THElNSTITUTIOMLCHDRCi 


Edwmd  Judsoh 


HAND-BOOKS  FOR  PRACTICAL  WORKERS 


BV  600  .JS 

Judson,  Edward,  1844-1914 

The  institutional  church 


£)anbbooks  for  practical  lt)orRcrs 
ill  (Il|urcl|  anb  pt^ilautl^ropH 

EDITED  BY 
SAMUEL  MACAULEY  JACKSON 
PROFESSOR   OF  CHURCH    HISTORY  IN 
NEW  YORK   UNIVERSITY 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH 


The  Institutional  Cliurch 


A  PRIMER  IN  PASTORAL  THEOLOGY 


BY 

v 


EDWARD  JUDSON 


INTRODUCTORY  WORD 


BISHOP   POTTER 


NEW  YORK 

LENTILHON  &  COMPANY 

78  Fifth  Avenue 


PREFACE 


It  is  proposed  that  the  following  pages  contain 
lessons  from  experience,  not  theories  yielded 
by  reflection.  Hence  the  "  Institutional  Church  " 
is  viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  lower  New  York, 
where  I  have  been  at  work  for  eighteen  years.  It 
would  not  be  strange,  however,  if  the  same  condi- 
tions and  problems  should  be  reproduced  in  other 
cities.  But  the  environment  of  each  church  so 
varies  with  its  situation  that  the  methods  which  are 
fruitful  of  good  in  one  spot,  may  elsewhere  prove 
barren  and  useless.  One  grows  shy  of  suggesting 
theories.  We  must  make  experiments;  just  as  a 
ferry  boat  bumps  against  the  sides  of  the  dock,  and 
seems  to  feel  its  way  to  its  exact  destination.  In 
Institutional  work  we  frequently  find  ourselves  on 
the  wrong  path,  and  have  to  retrace  our  steps  in 
silence.  As  Cardinal  Newman  says :  '*  To  live  is 
to  change,  and  to  be  perfect  is  to  have  changed 
often." 

At  the  risk  of  apparent  incompleteness,  only  such 
kinds  of  educational  and  philanthropic  work  will 
be  here  discussed  as  have  been  actually  tried  by  my 
own  church  in  lower  New  York. 

Edward  Judson. 

January,  1899. 

5 


INTRODUCTORY  WORD 


The  growth  of  weakh  and  of  luxury,  wicked, 
wasteful  and  wanton,  as  before  God  I  declare  that 
luxury  to  be,  has  been  matched  step  by  step  by  a 
deepening  and  deadening  poverty  which  has  left 
whole  neighborhoods  of  people  practically  without 
hope  and  without  aspiration.  At  such  a  time,  for 
the  Church  of  God  to  sit  still  and  be  content  with 
theories  of  its  duty  outlawed  by  time  and  long  ago 
demonstrated  to  be  grotesquely  inadequate  to  the 
demands  of  a  living  situation,  this  is  to  deserve  the 
scorn  of  men  and  the  curse  of  God !  Take  my  word 
for  it,  men  and  brethren,  unless  you  and  I  and  all 
those  who  have  any  gift  or  stewardship  of  talents, 
or  means,  of  whatever  sort,  are  willing  to  get  up 
out  of  our  sloth  and  ease  and  selfish  dilettanteism 
of  service,  and  get  down  among  the  people  who  are 
battling  amid  their  poverty  and  ignorance  —  young 
girls  for  their  chastity,  young  men  for  their  better 
ideal  of  righteousness,  old  and  young  alike  for  one 
clear  ray  of  the  immortal  courage  and  the  immortal 
hope  —  then  verily  the  Church  in  its  stately  splen- 
dor, its  apostolic  orders,  its  venerable  ritual,  its  dec- 

7 


8  INTRODUCTORY  WORD. 

orous    and    dignified    conventions,  is    revealed    as 
simply  a  monstrous  and  insolent  impertinence! 

I  should  be  recreant  to  my  duty  if  I  did  not 
declare  that  the  large  remoteness  of  those  who  rep- 
resent Christ  and  His  Church  from  any  intimate 
or  frequent  contact  with  those  whom  they  profess 
to  serve  is  one  of  the  most  grotesque  incongruities 
—  one  of  the  most  absolutely  indefensible  inconsist- 
encies of  our  modern  Christianity.  Do  I  hear 
somebody  say  that  this  has  been  the  method  of  the 
Church  here  and  elsewhere  from  time  immemorial? 
Then  I  say  so  much  the  worse  for  the  Church !  Do 
I  hear  some  one  else  say  that  the  conditions  of  life 
in  the  more  crowded  and  unsanitary  parts  of  New 
York  make  it  impossible  for  anybody  who  has  not 
been  trained  by  birth  and  poverty  to  such  condi- 
tions to  live  there?  Then  I  say  in  the  plainest  pos- 
sible terms  that  the  English  language  can  command 
that  such  a  statement  is  absolute  and  utter  rubbish. 
I  know  better.  Anybody  can  live  safely  and  health- 
fully under  the  excellent  sanitary  conditions  of  New 
York  to-day,  anywhere  on  this  island,  and  do  hard 
work  for  God  and  his  brother  —  if  he  wants  to! 

"  Do  you  find  your  work  hard?  "  I  asked,  not  long 
ago,  of  one  who  had  come  out  of  very  different  sur- 
roundings to  spend  her  life  down  among  the  poorest 
and  lowest  in  this  New  York  of  ours  —  "  Do  you 
find  your  work  hard?"  ''Never,"  she  answered, 
her  whole  face  aglow  with  enthusiasm.     "  Never! 


INTRODUCTORY   WORD.  9 

it  is  SO  intensely  interesting!  "  So  He  found  it,  I 
think,  Who  first  taught  us  how  to  do  it.  Beheve 
me,  my  brothers,  we  shall  never  find  a  better  road 
to  joy  than  He  has  opened  for  us. 

Henry  C.  Potter. 

Diocesan  House,  New  York. 
(From  a  sermon  preached  at  the  consecration  of 
Grace  Chapel,  New  York,  1896.) 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Preface 5 

Introductory  Word 7 

CHAPTER  I. 

The  Institutional  Church. 

Definition 17 

Individualism  Characteristic  of  Savage  Life 17 

Organization  Characteristic  of  Civilization 18 

Multiplicity   of   Societies,    Not    Promotive    of   Social 

Compactness 18 

The  Churches  Constitute  the  One  Cohesive  Force  in 

Human  Society    19 

Christ's  Social  Nature  19 

He  Formed  an  Enduring  Social  Organism 20 

Difficulty  of  This  Task 21 

All-sufficiency  of  the  Churches 22 

Social  Alienation  in  New  York 27 

The  Institutional  Church  a  Reconciling  Force 30 

Emphasis  on  Church  Not  on  Institution 30 

Definition  of  the  Institutional  Church 30 

Two  Kinds  of  Fields  for  Church  Work 32 

In  One  the  Social  Currents  Favor  the  Church 32 

In  the  Other  the  Social  Currents  Converge   Against 

the  Church ^3 

The  Institutional  Church  Imperatively  Needed  in  the 

More   Difficult    Fields 34 

II 


12  CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Old  Methods  Should  Not  be  Abandoned 35 

New  Methods  Should  Supplement  the  Old 35 

Dangers  and  Difficulties  in  Institutional  Work 36 

CHAPTER  11. 

The  Institutional  Church. 

Worship  —  The  Sunday  Morning  Service 40 

All  Institutionalism  should  be  Pervaded  by  Worship. .  40 

Programme  of  Worship  for  the  Week 41 

Definition  of  Sunday  Morning  Service 41 

Building  up  the  Congregation 41 

Importance  of  Stated  Public  Worship 42 

Difficulties  in  Maintaining  Public  Worship 43 

Sensationalism 44 

Institutionalism 45 

Pastoral  Visitation  45 

Rich  and  Varied  Calling  List 45 

The  Pastor  Himself  Should  Call 46 

Use  of  Tracts  in  Pastoral  Visitation 46 

Religious  Character  of  Pastoral  Calls 47 

Seeking  Definite  Results  in  Calling 48 

Prayer  During  the  Pastoral  Call 48 

Gathering  Illustrations  While  Making  Pastoral  Calls  48 
Training  Members  of  the  Church  to  Make  Pastoral 

Calls 49 

The  Pastor's  Office  Hour 50 

The  Service  as  a  Whole 51 

There    Should    be    the     Best     Possible     Equipment, 

Especially  Among  the  Poor Si 

Restfulness  of  the  Service 52 

Symmetry  of  the  Service 54 

Blending  of  Spontaneity  and  Liturgical  Formality 54 

The  People's  Share  in  Public  Worship 55 

Saying  or  Singing  Amen 55 

A  Suggested  Order  of  Service ., 56 

The  Service  in  Detail 57 


CONTENTS.  13 

Page. 

The  Communion  57 

Public  Prayer   58 

Scripture    Reading    58 

Giving   Notices    59 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Institutional  Church. 

Worship  —  The  Sermon  59 

Character  of  the   Sermon 59 

Expository 59 

Extemporaneous 65 

Ilkistrative 68 

Intelligible 75 

Positive n 

Persuasive 82 

Brief 90 

Preparation  of  Oneself   91 

The  Physical  Self  91 

The  Social  Self 92 

The  Mental  Self 93 

The   Spiritual   Self    97 

Preparation  of  the  Sermon loi 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Institutional  Church. 

Worship  —  The     Sunday     Afternoon     and     Evening 

Services 104 

The  Sunday  Afternoon  Service  —  The  Sunday  School  104 

Definition  of  the  Sunday  School 104 

Vitality    and    Apostolic     Character     of    the     Sunday 

School 104 

The  Relation  of  Pastor  to  Sunday  School 105 

Identification  of  Sunday  School  with  Church 106 

Sunday  School   Methods 106 


14  CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Opening  Exercises  107 

Lesson  Study  ' 107 

Closing  Exercises  108 

Conversion  of  Children no 

Advantages  of  Working  Among  Children in 

The  Sunday  Evening  Service 113 

Its    General    Character 113 

Evangelistic  Work   115 

Church    Music    123 

The  Best  Tunes  124 

Old  Tunes  126 

New  Tunes   126 

A  Volunteer  Chorus  Choir 128 


CHAPTER  V. 
The  Institutional  Church. 

Worship  —  Week   Day   Services 133 

Church    Prayer    Meeting 133 

Definition,  Distinctive  Character  and  Purpose  of  the 

Prayer  Meeting   133 

Good   Music   in  the   Prayer   Meeting 138 

Difficulty  in  Maintaining  the  Prayer  Meeting 140 

How  to  Make  the  Prayer  Meeting  Interesting 142 

The  Young  People's  Prayer  Meeting 144 

The  Young  People's  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor 

and  Kindred  Organizations 144 

Definition  and  Origin 144 

Advantages I45 

Dangers 146 

Close   Identification   of  the   Young   People's   Society 

with  the  Church ' 149 

Gospel  Meetings 150 


CONTENTS.  15 

CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Institutional  Church  and  the   Poor. 

Page. 

The  Duty  of  the  Church  Towards  the  Poor 151 

The  Good  Samaritan  the  Model  Philanthropist 156 

Dispensary 161 

Employment  Bureau 161 

Penny    Provident    Fund 161 

Cleaning  the  Church  Edifice 162 

Mothers'   Meetings  162 

Sewing  School  163 

Classes  in  Stenography,  Singing  and  Gymnastics....   164 

Fresh   Air  for  Children 165 

Fresh  Air  for  the  Aged,  Sick  and  Disabled 166 

Cool  Water   167 

Flower  Mission   168 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The   Institutional   Church  and   Children. 

The  Sunday  School 170 

The    Kindergarten    172 

The  Primary  School    172 

The  Day  Nursery  173 

The  Junior   Choir    174 

The  Class  in  Gymnastics  for  Boys 174 

The  Class  in  Gymnastics  for  Girls 174 

Children's  Meetings   175 

The  Children's  Home  175 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
The  Institutional  Church  and  Young  Men. 

The  Parish  House 178 

The  Hall 179 

The  School  Rooms  180 


l6  CONTENTS. 

Page. 

The  Young  Men's  Headquarters i8o 

Young  Men's  Clubs  184 

Baraca  Classes   184 

CHAPTER  IX. 
The  Institutional  Church  and  Finance. 

Free  Seats  and  the  Envelope  System 184 

Making  Giving  an  Integral  Part  of  the  Worship....  190 

Missionary  Offerings 190 

How  to  Meet  the  Expenses  of  Institutionalism 191 

CHAPTER  X. 
The  Institutional  Church  and  Denominationalism. 

Definition  of  Denomination 195 

Denominational     Triumph     Means     Denominational 

Dissolution 196 

Futility   of   Denominational   Selfishness 196 

Tendency  to  Unity  197 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH. 

Definition. 

In  savage  life  individualism  predominates. 
Domestic  ties  are  weak.  There  is  little  social  feel- 
ing. In  some  barbarous  tribes  the  members  of  the 
same  family  do  not  come  together  even  to  eat. 
Each  one  takes  his  food  in  private,  as  a  dog  drags 
away  a  bone  to  enjoy  it  apart.  Parental  affection, 
even,  is  short-lived,  and  the  young  early  learn  to 
fight  and  care  for  themselves.  The  aged  are  exposed 
and  left  to  die  of  hunger  or  to  be  eaten  up  by  wild 
beasts.  Inter-tribal  wars  are  frequent  and  continu- 
ous; social  alienation  prevails.  There  is  little  or  no 
instinct  of  solidarity. 

But  as  men  become  more  civilized  they  learn  to 
stand  shoulder  to  shoulder.  The  home  becomes 
more  stable;  people  reef  in  their  individual  prefer- 
ences, and  unite  for  military,  industrial,  educational 
and  religious  ends.  Battles  do  not  hinge  upon  the 
personal  prowess  of  a  single  hero.  Worthy  objects 
are  secured  by  combinations,  in  which  the  individual 
becomes  a  small  cog  in  a  vast  machine.     The  emi- 

17 


l8  THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

nent  men  of  civilized  life  are  not  conspicuous  for 
brilliant  talents.  They  are  great  organizers.  They 
can  bring  things  to  pass.  They  gently  coerce  others 
into  the  realization  of  their  own  ideas.  Themis- 
tocles  said:  **  I  cannot  fiddle,  but  I  know  how  to 
make  a  small  town  a  great  city." 

We  ourselves  belong  to  a  social  age.  Almost 
every  man  whom  you  meet  wears  some  kind  of  a 
badge.  Individuals  seem  instinctively  to  unite  and 
to  form  social  crystallizations.  We  have  great  secret 
organizations  —  like  the  Freemasons  and  the  Odd 
Fellows  —  for  mutual  aid  and  protection;  and  insur- 
ance companies  —  accident,  life,  and  fire;  we  have 
college  fraternities,  trades'-unions,  social,  artistic, 
and  literary  clubs,  as  well  as  political  organizations; 
and  the  Church  does  a  large  share  of  her  work 
through  the  machinery  of  societies  and  guilds. 

In  spite,  however,  of  this  strong  social  trend,  the 
community  as  a  whole  does  not  become  more  com- 
pact and  stable.  When  individual  men  come  closer 
together  into  a  society,  in  the  very  nature  of  the 
case  they  draw  away  from  others,  as  a  new  patch 
shrinks  on  an  old  garment,  so  that  the  rent  is  made 
worse.  The  more  perfectly  working  men  are  organ- 
ized, the  wider  will  be  the  chasm  between  them  and 
their  employers.  When  cultivated  and  congenial 
spirits  join  in  a  coterie  for  mutual  delectation  and 
the  pursuit  of  higher  ideals,  they  only  draw  the  fur- 
ther away  from  the  ignorant  and  rude.  The  exclu- 
sive societies  and  clubs  into  which  the  rich  are 
gathered  intensify  caste  prejudice  and  antipathy. 
So  that  the  social  instinct  that  seemed  to  have  within 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  I9 

it  the  promise  of  cohesion,  tends  ultimately  to  dis- 
integration. Society  is  seamed  with  crevasses, 
which  only  widen  as  individuals  come  into  closer 
social  contact. 

It  would  almost  seem  as  though  the  Church  were 
the  only  society  in  which  human  units  can  cohere 
on  a  common  plane  —  rich  and  poor,  prince  and 
pauper,  the  learned  and  the  illiterate.  All  races  and 
nationalities  meet  together  on  a  common  ground  — 
share  in  the  same  aspirations,  struggles,  and  hopes. 
This  was  the  glory  and  miracle  of  the  primitive 
Church,  that  at  a  time  when  race  antipathy  com- 
pared with  ours  was  as  sunlight  unto  moonlight,  the 
middle  wall  of  partition  was  broken  down,  and  Jew 
and  Greek  shared  in  the  common  eucharistic  meal. 
And  now  the  extended  and  complicated  congeries 
of  Christian  churches  distributed  through  the  com- 
munity—  groups  of  people  who,  irrespective  of 
social  condition,  meet  together  at  stated  times  to 
share  a  common  repast  in  memory  of  their  Founder 
—  this  forms  the  one  cohesive  force  in  human 
society.  The  churches  are  stitches  that  keep  the 
different  parts  of  the  social  fabric  from  falling 
asunder. 

Christ's  nature  was  intensely  social.  He  was  a 
Being: 

"  Not  too  bright  or  good 

For  human  nature's  daily  food." 

He  was  not  a  severe  anchorite,  like  John  the  Bap- 
tist, dwelling  apart  in  the  desert,  living  on  locusts 
and  wild  honey,  clad  in  a  rough  camel's  hair  cloth 
fastened  about  His  loins  by  a  leathern  thong.     He 


20  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

was  not  a  gloomy  fanatic,  fiercely  breaking  away 
from  the  amenities  of  social  and  domestic  life.  He 
was  not  a  hollow-eyed,  thin-necked  student,  who 
comes  forth  from  the  shadows  of  his  books,  and 
stands  dazed  when  confronted  with  the  hard  facts, 
contradictions  and  trivialities  of  every-day  Hfe.  He 
was  a  man  of  affairs  rather.  He  liked  to  be  jostled 
by  crowds  of  men.  He  frequented  the  synagogue 
and  the  market-place.  He  was  fond  of  taking  His 
promenades  among  the  fishing  smacks  that  skirted 
the  Galilean  lake.  He  scandalized  the  Pharisees  by 
being  hail  fellow  well  met  with  Publicans  and  sin- 
ners. The  working  man  felt  instinctively  that  He 
was  his  friend.  Little  children  stretched  out  their 
arms  for  His  embrace  and  His  blessing. 

"  And  so  the  Word  had  breath  and  wrought 
With  human  hands  the  creed  of  creeds, 
In  lowliness  of  perfect  deeds, 

More  strong  than  all  poetic  thought; 

"  Which  he  may  read  that  binds  the  sheaf, 
Or  builds  the  house,  or  digs  the  grave. 
Or  those  wild  eyes  that  watch  the  wave 

In  roarings  round  the  coral  reef." 

It  is  not  strange  that  so  social  a  Being  should  have 
formed  a  society  and  have  set  up  a  new  social  order. 
He  wrote  no  book.  He  proposed  to  perpetuate 
His  influence  by  saturating  a  few  individuals  with 
His  spirit  and  His  ideals.  He  produced  a  social 
organism.  He  gathered  about  him  a  coterie 
of  kindred  spirits  that  formed  a  kind  of  family. 
"  Thou,  also,  art  one  of  them,"  sneeringly  remarked 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  21 

the  servant  girl  to  Peter.  The  high  priest  exam- 
ined Christ,  not  only  touching  His  doctrines,  but 
His  disciples.  It  was  this  new  social  organism 
sprjinging  up  in  the  heart  of  the  Jewish  state  that 
awakened  the  misgivings  and  the  alarm  of  the 
hierarchs.  Plato  complained  that  the  philosophers 
of  his  time  hid  behind  the  stone  wall;  they  refused 
to  face  the  dust  and  sleet  of  opposition.  Christ 
came  out  into  the  open.  He  transmuted  abstract 
theory  into  a  social  organism.  "  Upon  this  rock  I 
build  my  church,  and  the  gates  of  Hades  shall  not 
prevail  against  it."  It  is  easy  to  dream  dreams  and 
to  cherish  beautiful  thoughts,  but  to  transmute 
thought  into  pictured  canvas,  or  sculptured  marble, 
or  intricate  machinery,  or  robust  and  enduring  social 
organism  is  to  meet  with  resistance  and  friction  at 
a  thousand  unlooked-for  points: —  "Hie  labor, 
hoc  opus  est."  It  is  one  thing  for  an  inventor  to 
have  an  idea;  it  is  quite  another  thing  for  him  to 
freeze  it  into  metal.  Catherine  the  Great  wrote 
to  Voltaire:  "My  dear  philosopher,  it  is  easier  to 
write  on  paper  than  on  human  flesh." 

David  Livingstone,  while  building  a  temporary 
house  in  Central  Africa,  met  with  many  casualties. 
Once  he  found  himself  dangling  from  a  beam  by  the 
arm  which  a  lion's  teeth  had  crunched;  again,  he 
had  a  fall  from  the  roof;  a  third  time  he  cut  himself 
with  the  axe;  exposed  to  the  hot  sun,  his  lips 
became  scabbed  and  broken.  It  is  not  strange  that 
in  a  letter  written  to  his  sister  on  the  second  day 
after  occupying  the  house  he  should  say:  "Oh, 
Janet,  know  thou,  if  thou  art  given  to  building  cas- 


22  THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH. 

ties  in  the  air,  that  that  is  easy  work  to  erecting 
cottages  on  the  ground." 

Christ  produced  a  society  which  has  survived  the 
changes  and  shocks  of  nineteen  centuries.  He 
meant  that  His  disciples  should  be  gathered  into 
social  groups.  The  world  must  have  something 
definite  to  lay  hold  of  and  to  persecute.  Christen- 
dom consists  of  a  vast  congeries  of  these  groups  of 
worshippers.  By  the  word  ''  church  "  as  used  in 
these  pages,  I  do  not  mean  the  spiritual  church, 
which  embraces  all  true  believers  in  Christ  every- 
where. I  mean  rather  what  is  often  called  the  local 
church  —  a  definite  group  of  Christians  who  meet 
habitually  at  one  place  to  break  the  loaf  and  take 
the  cup  in  memory  of  their  Lord,  to  sing  hymns  to 
His  praise,  to  offer  prayers  in  His  Name,  to  ponder 
His  teachings,  and  to  endeavor  to  live  His  life  over 
after  Him. 

This  definite  social  organism,  the  local  church, 
contains  the  potency  for  the  cure  of  all  the  ills  that 
flesh  is  heir  to.  Here  Hes  the  solution  of  every 
social  problem.  Let  no  other  society  displace  in 
our  consciousness  the  local  church.  The  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  for  instance,  cannot 
take  its  place.  It  is  simply  auxiliary.  It  may 
serve,  like  the  wings  of  a  net,  by  soft  persuasion,  to 
draw  people  within  the  embrace  of  the  church. 
Had  the  church  done  its  duty,  amid  the  changing 
and  complicated  conditions  of  our  modern  life,  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  would  hardly 
have  had  cause  for  existence.  It  does  very  little 
work  that  could  not  be  better  done  —  more  econom- 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  23 

ically,  thoroughly  and  comprehensively  —  by  the 
local  churches,  if  they  should  organize  their  own 
young  men  for  work  among  young  men.  And,  I 
believe  that  if  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion were  being  organized  to-day,  instead  of  fifty 
years  ago,  it  would  be,  like  the  Young  People's 
Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  a  local  church 
organization.  The  ideal  is  that  the  young  men  of 
each  individual  church  should  be  organized  into  a 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  of  that  church, 
to  work  for  the  young  men  in  that  neighborhood. 
The  conservatism  of  the  church  is  partly  to  blame 
that  many  of  her  ardent  young  men  prefer  to  do 
their  Christian  work  outside.  If  they  undertake  any 
new  aggressive  work  within  the  church  they 
are  too  often  exposed  to  the  chill  of  criticism.  It  is 
not  strange  that  they  apply  their  energy  along  new 
grooves  rather  than  through  the  worn  channels  of 
ecclesiasticism.  This,  however,  is  a  dangerous  tend- 
ency. Let  us  be  patient  with  the  church.  It  is 
through  her  that  Christ  meant  to  overcome  the 
world.  Let  the  church  be  first  in  our  thoughts.  It 
is  a  mistake  for  a  young  man  to  give  the  precedence 
to  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  —  full 
of  enthusiasm  in  the  hall,  limp  and  nerveless  in  the 
church.  Let  us  not  be  like  the  husband  described 
by  Coleridge:  "  Loud  on  the  hustings,  gay  in  the 
ball-room,  but  mute  and  sullen  by  the  family 
fireside." 

The  Young  People's  Society  of  Christian  En- 
deavor cannot  for  a  moment  be  thought  of  as  a 
substitute  for  the  local  church.     There  are  minds, 


24  THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

of  course,  of  the  pint  cup  variety.  They  have  room 
to  hold  only  one  organization  at  a  time.  To  such 
the  Young  People's  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor 
will  be  the  all  in  all  of  religious  organization;  they 
will, make  the  Young  People's  Society  of  Christian 
Endeavor  their  church.  But  such  a  tendency  is 
harmful  and  destructive.  The  society  is  of  use  only 
as  it  nourishes  the  parent  church.  Otherwise,  with 
all  its  magnificent  growth,  it  will  prove  only  a  lux- 
uriant ivy,  making  a  splendid  show  with  its  dark- 
green,  glossy  leaves,  but  all  the  time  sucking  out 
the  life  of  the  church  aroung  which  it  twines. 

Rescue  missions,  gospel  halls,  and  the  like,  are 
only  feeble  and  hectic  substitutes  for  vigorous 
church  organizations.  The  church  should  have  its 
missions  in  a  social  swamp,  and  begin  by  being 
itself  a  mission.  It  is  a  seductive  theory  that  bad 
people  cannot  be  brought  at  once  into  the  church, 
but  must  first  be  reached  by  a  mission  and  from 
thence  be  forwarded  to  the  church ;  and  they  tell  us  at 
the  missions  that  they  send  their  converts  to  the 
churches.  I  am  convinced  that  cases  are  extremely 
scarce  of  converts  joining  churches  from  mission 
halls.  To  get  your  convert  from  the  mission  to  the 
church  is  like  pulling  a  cat  across  the  carpet  by  the. 
tail  backwards.  It  is  the  mission  hall  that  he  wants 
to  join.  He  has  not  been  inside  of  a  church,  per- 
haps, for  twenty  years.  When  he  arrives  there  he 
is  regarded  with  coldness  and  suspicion.  The  prob- 
lem of  to-day  is  to  bridge  over  the  chasm  between 
the  church  and  the  mission  hall.  They  should  sup- 
plement each  other.     In  the  one  we  find  sacrament, 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  -  2$ 

org-anization  and  education;  in  the  other,  primitive 
zeal  and  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Either  make 
your  mission  hall  a  church  by  observing  there  the 
holy  ordinances  of  Baptism  and  Communion,  as  the 
apostles  would  doubtless  have  done,  or  else  have 
in  the  church  itself  the  spirit  and  method  of  the 
mission  hall.  In  order  to  catch  a  rat,  you  must  put 
your  bait  inside  the  trap. 

Mission  halls  are  attractive.  Human  nature  is 
so  put  together  that  if  it  can  find  any  road  to 
heaven,  except  through  the  church,  it  will  take  that 
road  every  time.  The  mission  hall  provides  a  kind 
of  religious  free  lunch,  and  people  always  like  to  get 
something  for  nothing,  even  though  it  be  gospel 
preaching  and  singing.  You  do  not  have  to  join 
anything,  nor  give  anything.  There  is  little  sense 
of  obligation.  People  take  Christ  as  a  Savior  but 
not  as  a  Lord.  They  want  the  rest  without  the 
yoke.  There  is  very  little  Bible  knowledge  imparted, 
and  correspondingly  little  development  of  character 
and  intelligence,  or  ripening  of  Christian  conscious- 
ness. A  man  testifies  as  follows :  "  Two  years,  six 
months,  and  fourteen  days  ago  I  came  into  this 
mission  drunk  and  in  rags,  and  knelt  down  by  that 
chair.  Jesus  sweetly  saved  me,  and  this  is  the  hap- 
piest two  years,  six  months,  and  fourteen  days  I 
have  ever  spent."  The  next  night  the  testimony  is 
the  same  as  above  except  that  he  adds  one  day  to 
the  time  separating  him  from  his  life  of  sin.  A 
mission  without  a  church  is  like  an  ambulance 
without  a  hospital.  If  we  are  to  have  churches  and 
missions  both,  then,  instead  of  a  great  mission  mak- 


26  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

ing  converts  and  trying  to  send  them  to  the  sur- 
rounding churches,  let  each  church  plant  at  strate- 
gic points  little  neighborhood  missions  from  which 
it  can  draw  converts  into  its  own  communion;  only 
the  mission  should  be  near  enough  to  the  parent 
church  for  all  the  people  to  worship  in  her  edifice 
at  least  once  on  Sunday.  In  a  circle  of  such  a  size 
that  the  worshiper  can  come  from  his  house  on  or 
within  the  circumference  to  a  central  place  of  wor- 
ship for  the  Sunday  morning  service,  I  would  have 
only  one  church.  Let  there  be  one  church,  one 
baptistry  or  font,  one  Communion  table,  one  college 
of  ministers,  one  board  of  deacons,  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  as  many  Sunday  evening  services  and  Sunday 
schools  and  week-night  prayer  meetings  as  are 
required  to  meet  the  religious  wants  of  each  neigh- 
borhood. But,  the  church  should  not  estabhsh 
missions  without  first  being  a  mission  itself;  a  mis- 
sion should  be  the  natural  overflow,  simply,  of  the 
church  life,  not  an  effort  on  our  part  to  provide  a 
kind  of  servants'  dining-room  for  people  of  low 
degree  with  whom  we  do  not  care  to  come  into  too 
close  social  contact  ourselves. 

To  the  churches,  then,  expressing  as  they  do,  in 
social  form,  the  thought  of  Christ,  and  containing 
within  themselves  the  medicament  for  every  kind  of 
social  ill,  human  society  owes  its  healthy  cohesion. 
In  our  great  towns,  however,  the  churches  are  con- 
fronted by  new  and  artificial  conditions,  that  tend 
to  social  alienation,  the  separation  of  class  from 
class.  Take  New  York,  for  instance.  The  south- 
ernmost section  is  being  solidly  filled  up  with  busi- 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  27 

ness  houses,  to  the  exclusion  of  residences.  The 
process  is  almost  as  complete  as  when  water  fills 
a  retort  from  the  bottom  up.  But  it  is  a  mistake 
to  suppose  that  our  town  is  going  to  be  solidly  filled 
with  business  all  the  way  up.  Just  as  soon  as  the 
island  widens  out  northward,  business  tends  to 
fringe  the  water  fronts  and  the  main  thoroughfares, 
and  to  ascend  skyward  by  means  of  elevators;  and 
there  are  left,  in  the  interstices  behind,  congested 
masses  of  population,  denser  than  anywhere  else  in 
the  world.  People  are  packed  together  in  tene- 
ment-houses like  sardines  in  a  box.  It  is  a  mistake 
to  suppose  that  the  upper  part  of  New  York  is 
entirely  given  over  to  residence,  and  the  lower  part 
to  business.  Because  people  do  not  belong  to  our 
set  we  sometimes  forget  that  they  exist  at  all. 
"  Out  of  sight  out  of  mind." 

Now  these  great  masses  of  people  left  down-town 
by  the  upward  trend  of  business  and  genteel  resi- 
dences, and  composed  largely  of  foreign  elements 
dominated  by  materialistic  or  sacramentarian  no- 
tions, constitute  at  our  very  doors  a  mission-field 
of  unparalleled  richness  and  promise.  But,  like  all 
rich  mission-fields,  it  is  hard  to  work,  and,  if 
neglected,  becomes  a  menace.  We  have  a  new  and 
very  dangerous  phase  of  social  alienation.  The 
tendency  is  for  the  intelligent,  well-to-do  and 
churchgoing  people  to  withdraw  little  by  little  from 
this  part  of  the  city.  They  go  to  Harlem,  or  Brook- 
lyn, or  New  Jersey.  This  cannot  be  helped.  It  is 
right  for  families  to  move  where  the  children  can 
have  the  best  advantages  of  air  and  space  and  school 


28  THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

and  society.  And  so  the  down-town  churches 
steadily  decline,  and  the  people  charge  it  up  to  the 
minister.  They  say  he  does  not  draw.  They  have 
a  new  minister  every  two  or  three  years.  The 
wealth,  little  by  little,  leaks  out  of  the  church,  and 
the  Gospel  appliances  become  correspondingly 
weaker.  The  respectable  families  move  away  from 
the  church;  and  in  their  places  come  people  who  are 
indififerent,  uncongenial  or  perhaps  even  hostile. 
The  old,  tried  methods  do  not  seem  to  work.  The 
church  is  being  gradually  engulfed  by  a  sand-wave. 
It  is  not  the  fault  of  the  minister.  An  angel's 
energy  and  patience  could  do  nothing  but  retard  the 
process  of  decay.  The  only  thing  left  for  the  church 
to  do  seems  to  be  to  move  up-town ;  and  so  the  plain 
people  down-town,  see  Christianity,  as  far  as  it  is 
represented  by  the  churches,  die  out  before  their 
face  and  eyes.  These  dense  masses  of  human  beings 
are  left  practically  unchurched.  But  they  have 
their  revenge.  We  cannot  escape  them.  We  are 
like  the  silly  ostrich  that  hides  her  head  in  the  sand. 
Up-town  is  all  the  time  becoming  down-town.  The 
streets  swarm  with  children  like  a  rabbit  warren. 
There  is  a  saloon  on  every  corner.  These  people 
outvote  us  at  every  election.  We  catch  their  dis- 
eases. The  miasma  from  this  social  swamp  steals 
upward  and  infects  our  whole  municipal  life,  and 
our  cities  determine  the  character  and  destiny  of 
our  country.  We  must  be  either  hammer  or  anvil 
—  either  subdue  these  people  with  the  Gospel,  or  in 
the  end  be  assimilated  by  them.  We  send  our  best 
men  and  women  to  the  heathen,  and  pay  their  trav- 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  29 

eling  expenses;  and  when  God,  seeing  how  con- 
cerned we  are  for  the  heathen,  puts  it  into  their 
hearts  to  come  to  us  from  all  parts  of  the  world, 
paying  their  own  traveling  expenses,  they  do  not 
look  so  interesting  and  picturesque.  Instead  of 
being  glad  to  see  them,  we  turn  away  in  disgust  and 
despair.  We  are  too  like  the  company  of  home 
militia,  that  enlisted  with  the  express  understanding 
that  they  were  never  to  be  taken  out  of  the  county, 
"  unless  it  should  be  invaded."  As  in  a  case  of 
dropsy  the  water  rises  little  by  little  until  it  floods 
the  vitals,  so  there  is  danger  that  our  city  will  be 
gradually  submerged  beneath  the  tide  of  alien  and 
unevangelical  population. 

Such  is  the  problem  of  social  alienation  that  con- 
fronts us  in  New  York.  On  the  one  side  is  a  vast 
tenement-house  population,  insufBciently  provided 
with  the  ameliorating  influences  of  school  and 
church;  on  the  other,  in  more  favored  districts,  the 
well-to-do  classes,  in  possession  of  the  more  ample 
and  eiTective  educational  and  ecclesiastical  appli- 
ances. We  are  like  a  workman  who  uses  his  strong- 
est tools  where  there  is  the  easiest  work  to  do,  or  a 
general  who  turns  his  heaviest  guns  upon  the  weak- 
est point  in  the  enemy's  line,  or  a  physician  who 
injects  his  medicines  into  the  least  diseased  portions 
of  his  patient's  body.  We  make  the  mistake  of 
huddling  our  best  preachers  and  our  most  amply 
equipped  churches  in  that  part  of  the  city  where 
they  are  least  needed,  and  where  refining  influences 
are  most  abundant;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  just 
where  the  population   is   densest  and   materialism 


30  THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH. 

most  strongly  entrenched,  we  bring  to  bear  our 
weakest  and  poorest  Gospel  appliances.  It  is  as 
though  during  a  cold  night  one  should  uncon- 
sciously gather  the  bed-clothes  up  around  one's 
neck,  leaving  one's  lower  extremities  stark  and 
chill. 

This  is  where  the  Institutional  Church  comes  in 
as  a  reconciling  force.  The  name  is  not  one  of  my 
own  choosing.  It  does  very  well,  however,  if  you 
put  the  emphasis  in  the  right  place.  Perspective 
is  everything  in  morals  and  religion.  Emphasize 
Church,  not  Institution.  Everything  good  is  haunted 
by  evil.  Dangers  lurk  along  all  right  paths,  but 
this  is  no  reason  for  turning  back.  Goethe  says: 
"  Upon  the  most  glorious  conception  which  the 
human  mind  forms,  there  is  always  pressing  in 
strange  and  stranger  stufif."  You  do  not  want  a 
great  palatial  institution  with  a  feeble  church  attach- 
ment, atrophied  through  disuse.  Our  social,  edu- 
cational and  philanthropic  equipment  should  be 
saturated  with  the  Gospel  spirit.  The  purpose  of  all 
Institutional  Churches  should  be  gently  to  turn 
humanity  around,  and  direct  its  sad,  averted  gaze 
toward  the  cross. 

An  Institutional  Church,  then,  is  an  organized 
body  of  Christian  believers,  who,  finding  themselves 
in  a  hard  and  uncongenial  social  environment,  sup- 
plement the  ordinary  methods  of  the  Gospel  —  such 
as  preaching,  prayer-meetings,  Sunday-school,  and 
pastoral  visitation  —  by  a  system  of  organized  kind- 
ness, a  congeries  of  institutions,  which,  by  touching 
people  on  physical,  social,  and  intellectual  sides,  will 


THE    INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  3I 

conciliate  them  and  draw  them  within  reach  of  the 
Gospel.  The  local  church  under  the  pressure  of 
adverse  environment  tends  to  institutionalism. 

The  church  contains  within  itself  the  potency  for 
the  cure  of  every  social  ill.  All  that  good  people 
seek  to  accomplish  through  University  Settlements, 
Young  Men's  Christian  Associations,  Rescue  Mis- 
sions, and  other  redemptive  agencies,  can  better 
be  done  through  churches,  embedded  in  society, 
each  forming  a  center  of  light,  which  irradiates  the 
circumjacent  gloom.  The  human  mind  could  not 
conceive  of  a  more  perfect  machine  for  cleaning  up 
the  misery  of  a  great  city  than  the  network  of  local 
churches  distributed  through  it,  provided  each 
church  would  interest  itself  in  the  fallen  and 
wretched  immediately  about  it.  I  would  be  glad  to 
see  the  local  church  girdled  with  philanthropic 
institutions,  each  on  a  small  scale,  meeting  the  needs 
of  the  neighborhood  —  as  orphanage,  dispensary, 
hospital,  home  for  the  aged,  and  so  on.  We  like  to 
say  that  Christianity  is  the  root  of  our  philanthro- 
pies, but  plain  people  cannot  trace  the  connection. 
If  the  church  should  directly  interest  itself  in  curing 
social  sores,  a  workingman  could  not  pass  one  of 
our  ecclesiastical  structures  without  the  same  soft- 
ening of  the  heart  and  moistening  of  the  eye  which 
he  feels  when  he  passes  some  great  hospital  and 
sees  the  white  faces  of  little  children  pressed  against 
its  window-panes,  and  thinks  that  his  turn  may  come 
to  seek  shelter  within  its  embrace. 

The  best  way  to  redeem  society  and  to  save  our 
cities  is  to  reinforce  the  churches  in  our  neglected 


32  THE    INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH. 

districts.  In  a  city  there  are  two  kinds  of  fields. 
In  one,  the  social  currents  seem  to  converge  in 
favor  of  the  church.  Decent,  Sabbath-observing, 
churchgoing  people  are  living  in  the  neighborhood, 
and  all  you  have  to  do  is  to  throw  open  the  doors 
of  your  beautiful  church,  and  the  people  flock  in 
to  hear  your  fine  preacher  and  your  artistic  music. 
Their  social  life  is  not  complete  without  a  pew  in 
the  neighboring  house  of  worship.  Hence  the  suc- 
cess of  your  church  is  swift-footed.  If  you  have  a 
good  nnnister,  attractive  music  and  stately  archi- 
tecture, the  church  seems  to  grow  itself.  The  min- 
ister preaches  two  good  sermons  on  Sunday,  deliv- 
ers his  midweek  address,  performs  his  round  of 
faithful  pastoral  visitation,  and  at  the  end  of  a  year 
or  two  rejoices  to  see  his  pews  comfortably  filled. 
He  fancies  that  he  does  it  all.  But  he  is  like  a  boy 
rowing  down-stream.  The  oars  are  reinforced  by 
the  steady,  swift  current.  If  he  is  a  shrewd  man,  he 
will  always  be  careful  to  select  such  a  spot  —  where 
the  social  currents  converge  in  his  favor.  He  will 
call  it  securing  a  strategic  position.  But  the  very 
swiftness  of  your  success  awakens  misgiving.  You 
begin  to  be  suspicious  of  so  speedy  a  victory.  You 
recall  St.  John's  profound  generaUzation :  '*  We 
know  that  the  whole  world  lieth  in  the  wicked  one." 
You  are  surprised  that  with  this  environment  the 
Church  of  Christ  should  advance  with  such  long, 
easy  strides.  You  begin  to  ask  yourself  the  ques- 
tion that  fell  from  the  lips  of  the  aged  patriarch 
Isaac,  when  his  younger  son  undertook  to  palm 
himself  ofT  as  the  elder,  and  spread  before  him  the 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  $^ 

savory  but  premature  dish  of  venison:  "  How  is  it 
that  thou  hast  found  it  so  quickly,  my  son?  "  You 
proceed  to  analyze  the  audience  you  have  gathered, 
and  you  discover  it  is  composed  of  people  who  went 
to  church  before.  You  explore  the  ecclesiastical 
pedigree  of  those  who  fill  your  pews,  and  you  find 
them  registered.  You  have  only  succeeded  in  get- 
ting a  handful  here,  and  a  handful  there,  from  this 
church  and  from  that.  There  is  no  production  of 
new  material.  It  is  merely  a  sleight-of-hand  per- 
formance, as  when  you  turn  a  kaleidoscope,  and  the 
same  identical  pieces  of  glass  shift  and  form  a  new 
combination.  You  have  really  made  no  impression 
upon  the  great  non-churchgoing  mass.  The  acute 
pleasure  you  feel  in  seeing  so  many  people  in  your 
church  is  a  good  deal  mitigated  by  the  thought  that 
another  minister,  here  and  there,  is  correspondingly 
depressed  by  noting  their  absence  from  his.  Many 
a  so-called  successful  church  is  built  at  the  expense 
of  a  score  of  feebler  ecclesiastical  growths.  Is  there 
any  real  gain  to  the  cause  of  Christ?  You  are  just 
working  over  old  material.  You  produce  no  new 
stuff.  Our  question  should  be,  not  "  How  can  our 
church  grow  fastest?  "  but  ''  How  can  we  most  pro- 
foundly affect  and  change  the  character  of  the  com- 
munity in  which  we  live?  " 

There  is  another  kind  of  field.  Here  the  Latin 
and  Celtic  races  predominate  over  the  Saxon. 
Materialistic  and  sacramentarian  notions  form  the 
religion  of  the  people.  Evangelical  people  are  flee- 
ing, as  from  a  plague,  and  their  places  are  rapidly 
filled  by   families   that   a,x^   tinresponsive   to  yoqi* 


34  THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH. 

Gospel.  Day  and  night  you  are  confronted  by  tlie 
hideous  forms  of  pauperism,  prostitution,  intemper- 
ance and  crime.  You  are  Hke  one  who  with  great 
expense  and  pains  builds  a  library  in  a  place  where 
people  have  no  taste  for  books.  Here  it  may  take 
you  ten  years  to  fill  your  church ;  but  upon  examin- 
ing your  people,  you  will  find  that  they  have  come  to 
you  out  of  the  world,  not  out  of  other  churches. 
This  is  clear  gain.  The  idea  of  the  Institutional 
Church  is  to  cling  to  the  old  fields,  adapting  its 
methods  to  the  kind  of  people  God  sends.  It  does 
not  want  to  become  a  traveling  show. 

It  is  not  strange  that  many  good  people  are  shy 
of  Church  institutionalism.  They  say  that  what  we 
want  is  the  simple  Gospel,  and,  if  Christ  be  lifted  up, 
He  will  draw  all  men  to  Him.  But  the  difficulty  is 
to  bring  men  within  reach  of  the  Gospel.  How 
shall  they  believe  in  Him  of  whom  they  have  not 
heard?  The  preacher  is  often  like  one  who  rings 
a  silver  bell  in  a  vacuum.  What  is  the  use  of  trans- 
muting the  Gospel  into  atmospheric  vibrations,  if 
there  are  no  ears  within  the  reach  of  those  vibra- 
tions? Church  institutionalism  is  nothing  more 
than  systematic,  organized  kindness,  which  con- 
ciliates the  hostile  and  indifferent,  alluring  them 
within  reach,  and  softening  their  hearts  for  the 
reception  of  the  word  of  life.  It  never  can  take  the 
place  of  the  Gospel.  The  Institutional  Church  is 
not  something  strange  and  abnormal.  Any  church 
that  has  a  Women's  Sewing  Circle,  or  a  Sewing 
School  for  Girls,  or  a  Kindergarten,  is  by  so  much 
an  Institutional  Church.     All  the  old,  tried  methods 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  35 

must  be  conserved  —  well-thought-out  and  inspir- 
ing sermons,  attractive  prayer-meetings  and  Sun- 
day-school, faithful  and  painstaking  pastoral  visita- 
tion. The  worst  ofif  need  the  best  we  have  of 
preaching,  music,  architecture, —  all  the  rest;  not 
cold  victuals, —  a  church,  not  a  mission.  My  own 
rule  is  to  preach  twice  on  Sunday,  attend  my  Sun- 
day-school, conduct  my  weekly  prayer-meetings, 
and  make  from  thirty  to  fifty  calls  a  week.  An 
assistant  cannot  do  this  in  lieu  of  the  pastor.  Peo- 
ple want  to  see  the  same  man  in  the  pulpit  that  they 
saw  by  the  wash-tub  or  the  sick-bed.  Otherwise 
the  charm  is  broken.  If  institutionalism  means  to 
displace  the  old  regime  of  preaching  and  pastoral 
work,  it  had  better  take  itself  off.  Its  only  use  is 
to  bring  people  within  range  of  the  pastor  and 
preacher.  These  things  ought  ye  to  do,  and  not 
to  leave  the  other  undone. 

The  task  we  outline  is  a  difficult  one.  Wlien, 
under  the  pressure  of  adverse  social  conditions,  the 
vitality  of  a  church  has  sunk  below  a  certain  point, 
convalescence  becomes  almost  impossible.  Con- 
sider for  a  moment  the  forces  that  work  toward  the 
disintegration  of  a  church  in  the  lower  wards  of  a 
great  town,  and  to  a  certain  extent  everywhere  else. 
The  world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil  are  against  it  as 
a  matter  of  course,  because  it  is  Christian;  a  large 
section  of  Christendom  is  against  it  because  it  is 
Protestant  and  Evangelical;  all  the  other  Protestant 
denominations  are  out  of  sympathy  with  it,  because 
of  its  distinctive  denominational  tenets;  the  churches 
of  its  own  Communion,  I  will  not  say  are  against  it, 


36  THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH. 

but  are  certainly  not  suffering  poignant  solicitude 
on  its  behalf,  for  fear  that  it  may  draw  away 
some  of  their  own  members  who  are  sorely  needed 
at  home.  It  occupies  a  bleak  position  indeed. 
Even  if  it  is  thoroughly  united  in  itself,  it  can 
scarcely  make  headway  against  such  mighty  odds; 
it  has  only  a  fighting  chance.  But,  to  make  its  out- 
look still  more  hopeless,  its  own  slender  membership, 
under  the  hydraulic  pressure  of  trouble,  instead  of 
being  fused  into  absolute  unity,  is  too  often  divided 
and  split  up  into  opposing  cliques  and  factions. 
Straining  itself  to  the  utmost,  it  cannot  meet  its 
ordinary  current  expenses,  and  at  the  end  of  every 
year  is  confronted  by  a  new  deficit,  which  can  only 
be  met  by  a  new  lien  upon  its  ground  and  building. 
In  great  mouthfuls,  it  is  eating  up  its  own  property. 
And  all  the  time  it  knows,  or  ought  to  know,  that 
with  its  adverse  environment,  it  must  spend  each 
year  for  aggressive  missionary  work  as  much,  at 
least,  as  is  required  for  the  current  expenses,  or  else 
must  steadily  and  rapidly  decline.  We  may  say  of 
the  down-town  church  what  the  Czar  said  of  Tur- 
key: "  We  have  on  our  hands  a  sick  man,  a  very 
sick  man;  it  will  be  a  great  misfortune,  if,  one  of 
these  days,  he  should  slip  away  from  us  before  the 
necessary  arrangements  have  been  made."* 


*The  Rev.  Dr.  Macintosh,  after  serving  for  fourteen 
years  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Philadelphia, 
gives  the  following  reasons  for  his  resignation:  "The 
almost  unprecedented  financial  crisis  through  which  we 
are  passing;  the  unparalleled  death  sweep,  robbing  our 
church   of   many   of   our   best   workers   and   most   liberal 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  37 

These  are  only  parts  of  the  difficulty  we  meet. 
To  crystallize  in  social  forms  a  beneficent  stream  of 
tendency  already  existing  is  comparatively  easy,  but 
to  originate  a  new  tendency  for  good,  or  to  reverse 
a  vicious  current  of  thought  or  feeling,  is  a  slow  and 
toilsome  process.  You  will  find  yourself  alone  and 
unsupported.  People,  discerning  your  philanthropic 
disposition,  instead  of  putting  their  shoulder  to  the 
wheel,  will  hasten  to  lay  down  upon  you  the  bur- 
dens which  they  ought  to  carry  themselves.  Every 
reform,  they  say,  goes  through  three  stages;  first, 
it  is  laughed  at;  then,  it  is  said  to  be  contrary  to 
religion;  and  then,  everybody  says  that  he  knew 
it  before.  As  with  Childe  Roland,  your  hope  will 
dwindle  — 

"  Into  a  ghost  not  fit  to  cope 

With  that  obstreperous  joy  success  would  bring." 

Foreign  missions  have  indeed  the  first  claim. 
The  blood  of  our  martyrs  in  Asia  and  Africa  eter- 
nally forbids  our  retreat.  A  Christianity  which  is 
deaf  to  the  crv  of  the  heathen,  will  be  sure  to  be 


givers;  the  progressive  movement  of  population  from  our 
neighborhood  to  the  suburbs  and  the  country;  the  over- 
churching  of  our  district  and  the  thinning  out  of  Presby- 
terian families  and  residents;  the  impossibility  of  obtain- 
ing help  and  co-operation  in  the  eldership  and  the  dia- 
conate,  the  Sunday-school,  the  prayer  meetings  and  the 
Young  Peoples'  Societies;  the  growing  neglect  of  the 
second  Sabbath  service,  and  the  steady  lengthening  of  the 
summer  absence  from  the  city,  breaking  up  the  con- 
tinuity of  church  life  and  work."  In  our  view  wise 
institutionalism  would  prove  the  only  remedy  for  the 
difiicult  congested  condhion  so  pathetically  described. 


38  THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH. 

recreant  to  her  trusts  in  our  own  land.  A  charity 
which  begins  at  home  generally  stops  before  it 
begins.  A  missionary  spirit  that  reaches  out  its 
hand  to  the  lost  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth, 
will  not  neglect  the  perishing  at  our  own  doors.  A 
rifle  that  can  be  depended  upon  for  six  hundred 
yards  will  not  fail  you  when  fired  point  blank.  Let 
no  word  of  mine  ever  depreciate  the  sacred  cause  to 
which  my  father  gave  his  life.  But  more  and  more 
the  world  becomes  all  one.  The  mission-fields  are 
not  all  in  Asia  and  Africa.  Some  of  them  are  close 
at  hand.  Geography  does  not  make  a  missionary. 
Foreign  Missions,  Home  Missions,  City  Missions 
are  only  different  expressions  of  that  same  mission- 
ary spirit  that  may  be  defined  as  the  disposition  in 
a  man  voluntarily  to  put  himself  in  a  spot  where  the 
currents  of  evil  will  converge  against  him.  The 
true  missionary  will  not  seek  a  good  place,  but  will 
make  the  place  good,  where  he  is.  He  will  not  look 
for  a  church  that  will  serve  as  a  pedestal  for  him- 
self, but  will  lay  himself  down  and  become  a  pedes- 
tal upon  which  his  church  will  stand  —  a  beautiful 
statue.  Success  means  suffering.  If  you  succeed 
without  suffering,  it  is  because  somebody  suffered 
before  you.  If  you  suffer  without  succeeding,  it  is 
in  order  that  somebody  may  succeed  after  you. 

The  further  we  proceed  along  the  path  of  strenu- 
ous endeavor,  the  steeper  the  way  becomes.  In- 
numerable hindrances  twine  themselves  about  our 
legs  and  catch  at  our  skirts  like  clinging  vines,  and 
the  tenuous,  thorny  branches  of  blackberry  bushes. 
Our  feet  seem  made  of  lead,  and  hard  to  move,  as 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  39 

in  a  night-mare.  There  is  so  httle  to  show  for  the 
effort  put  forth  we  have  to 

"  Reach   a   hand  through  time 

To  catch  the  far-off  interest  of  tears." 

We  become  more  sober  in  our  judgments  than  at 
the  beginning.  Our  pristine  resolution  is  sickhed 
o'er  with  the  pale  cast  of  thought;  we  say  with 
Egmont:  "Time  passes;  the  head  swims;  things 
go  on  their  old  way,  and  instead  of  sailing  over  wide 
seas,  according  to  a  preconceived  course,  we  can 
thank  God,  if,  in  such  weather,  we  can  keep  our 
ship  off  the  rocks."  Sieyes,  when  asked  what  he 
had  done  during  the  Reign  of  Terror,  replied:  ''  I 
lived."  We  realize  the  limitations  of  our  responsi- 
bility. We  are  not  required  to  produce  a  search- 
light. It  would  be  of  little  use  in  illuminating  a 
city.  It  belongs  to  us  simply  to  light  a  street  lamp. 
This  becomes  an  object  lesson.  Virtue  is  infectious. 
Another  lamp  will  be  soon  lighted  at  the  next  cor- 
ner. So,  little  by  little  the  dark  streets  will  be 
illumined  by  the  mild,  evenly-diffused  radiance  of 
countless  lamps,  and  in  the  end  the  whole  city 
become  bright.  One  comes  to  see  that  the  lighting 
of  a  single  lamp  requires  more  than  a  lifetime  for  its 
accomplishment.  ''  In  great  things,  it  is  enough 
to  have  wished."  Others  will  see  our  tracks  in  the 
snow,  and  follow  them  home.     "  Es  lebt  nach  uns." 

"  Others  shall  sing  the  song, 
Others  shall  right  the  wrong. 
Finish  what  I  begin 
And  all  I  fail  of  win. 


40  THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH. 

"  What  matter  I  or  they, 
Mine  or  another's  day, 
So  the  right  word  be  said 
And  Hfe  the  sweeter  made? 

"  Ring!  bells  in  unreared  steeples. 
The  joy  of  unborn  peoples; 
Sound,  trumpets  far-off  blown! 
Your  triumph  is  my  own." 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH. 

Worship  —  The  Sunday  Morning  Service, 

In  the  Institutional  Church  the  spirit  of  worship 
should  be  vigilantly  preserved  and  cherished.  The 
emphasis  lies  on  the  church  rather  than  on  her 
institutions.  There  is  constant  danger  of  seculariza- 
tion. Amid  the  varied  efforts  put  forth  to  improve 
man's  condition  in  this  life,  the  consciousness  of 
God  and  of  the  future  life  grows  thin  and  weak. 
Only  a  robust  sense  of  the  Fatherhood  of  God  can 
.produce  and  maintain  the  instinct  of  human  brother- 
hood. All  the  charitable  and  educational  agencies 
of  the  church  should  be  suffused  with  the  spirit  of 
worship.  They  are  only  the  wings  of  the  Gospel 
net.  The  mission  of  kindness  is  to  soften  hearts  for 
the  reception  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  Chris- 
tian sympathy  tends  to  draw  reluctant  humanity 
within  the  embrace  of  Divine  Love. 

Public  worship,  then,  expressing  itself  in  the  Sun- 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  4^ 

day  and  Week-day  services  of  the  church,  claims 
our  attention.  The  following  general  schedule  of 
worship  has  grown  up  to  meet  the  needs  of  our 
church  in  lower  New  York :  The  church  meets  on 
Sunday  morning  for  Public  Worship,  the  service 
culminating  in  Communion;  on  Sunday  afternoon, 
for  the  Study  of  the  Bible,  children  preponderating 
(in  other  words,  the  Sunday  School);  on  Sunday 
evening,  for  Evangelistic  Work,  the  service  cul- 
minating in  Baptism;  on  Friday  evening,  for  Social 
Worship,  older  people  preponderating  (in  other 
words,  the  Prayer  Meeting);  on  Wednesday  even- 
ing, for  Social  Worship,  again,  younger  people  pre- 
ponderating (in  other  words,  the  Young  People's 
Meeting);  and,  on  the  other  nights  of  the  week,  for 
Gospel  Meetings.  Observe  that  all  through  these 
successive  assemblies  for  worship,  with  different 
shades  of  purpose,  and  varying  personnel,  it  is 
always  the  Church  that  meets,  and  the  services 
should  all  be  under  the  general  conduct  of  the  pas- 
tor, but  open  to  all,  whether  members  of  the  church 
or  not. 

Let  us  take  up  these  different  acts  of  worship 
one  by  one. 

First,  then,  the  Sunday  Morning  Service,  to  wdiich 
this  chapter  is  devoted.  The  church  meets  on  Sun- 
day morning  for  Public  W^orship,  the  service  cul- 
minating in  Communion. 

I.  Building  up  the  Congregation. 

The  church  has  always  made  much  of  the 
stated    gatherings    of    the    saints.      Tlie    inspired 


42  THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH. 

writer  enforces  our  duty  not  to  forsake  the 
assembling  of  ourselves  together.  The  younger 
Pliny,  107  A.  D.,  in  his  letter  to  the 
Emperor  Trajan,  gives  it  as  one  of  the  results  of 
his  judicial  investigation  of  the  Christians  in  his 
province  of  Bithynia,  that  ''  they  met  on  an  ap- 
pointed day  at  sunrise,  sang  responsively  a  song  to 
Christ  as  to  God,  and  then  pledged  themselves  by 
an  oath,  not  to  any  evil  work,  but  that  they  would 
commit  no  theft,  robbery,  nor  adultery,  would  not 
break  their  word,  nor  sacrifice  property  entrusted 
to  them.  Afterwards,  at  evening,  they  assembled 
again  to  eat  ordinary  and  innocent  food."  The  per- 
petuity of  the  Christian  religion  is  largely  due  to 
this  custom  of  periodic  public  worship.  We  some- 
times speak  lightly  of  it,  as  if  the  Christian  were 
doing  little  or  nothing  for  the  cause  of  Christ  who 
only  attends  church.  But  is  it  not  true  that  faithful 
attendance  upon  her  services  is  essential  to  the  very 
maintenance  of  Christianity?  Let  us  not  depreciate 
the  host  of  humble  believers,  who,  while  they  are 
not  conspicuous  as  Christian  workers,  yet  are  faith- 
ful to  the  appointments  of  their  church,  coming 
promptly  and  regularly  to  her  services  and  joining 
heartily  in  her  worship.  How  sweet  and  solemn 
are  the  cadences  of  Cardinal  Newman's  lines,  writ- 
ten by  him  when  he  little  thought  of  entering  the 
Roman  Communion! 

"  Oh  that  thy  creed  were  sound! 

For  thou  dost  soothe  the  heart,  thou  Church  of  Rome, 
By  thy  unwearied  watch,  and  varied  round 

Of  service  in  thy  Saviour's  holy  home." 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  43 

The  maintenance  of  stated  public  worship  on  Sun- 
day, in  a  great  town,  all  the  year  through,  rain  or 
shine,  hot  or  cold,  in  times  like  these,  when  the 
sense  of  obligation  in  this  direction  is  weak,  even 
among  Christians,  so  that  they  come  when  they  feel 
like  it  and  stay  away  for  slight  cause,  either  to  ride 
the  bicycle,  or  to  lounge  over  the  Sunday  newspaper, 
the  most  effective  engine  that  could  be  devised 
quietly  to  displace  in  the  human  consciousness  the 
thoughts  of  God  by  filling  it  to  the  brim  with  the 
things  of  sense, —  to  sustain  evangelical  worship 
in  a  part  of  the  city  that  is  dominated  so  largely  by 
materialistic  and  sacramentarian  notions,  where,  as 
results  of  past  strife  and  depression,  the  molten  lava 
of  ecclesiastical  life  has  cooled  into  vicious  crystal- 
lizations, so  that  Protestanism  finds  itself  broken  up 
into  small  competing  camps;  *where  the  habits  of 
the  people  are  migratory,  and  in  all  social 
organisms  the  centrifugal  forces  preponderate 
over  the  centripetal;  and,  in  a  town  like  ours, 
where   even   good   people   make   nothing   of    stay- 


*  I  delineated  on  a  map  of  New  York  city  the  parochial 
limits  of  a  Roman  Catholic  church  not  far  from  where  I 
preach,  and  I  found  within  its  parish  no  less  than  ten 
Protestant  church  edifices,  and  that  in  a  part  of  the  city 
where  the  Catholic  population  preponderates.  Is  it 
strange  that  the  Roman  Catholic  church  edifice  is 
crowded,  and  that  each  one  of  the  Protestant  church  edi- 
fices is  only  about  half  full?  If  the  Protestants  had  only 
one  church  edifice  in  that  section,  they,  as  well  as  the 
Romanists,  would  have  to  multiply  their  services,  increase 
the  number  of  their  officiants,  and  then  hardly  have  room 
for  the  people. 


44  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

ing  away  from  their  own  church  to  indulge  the 
vagrant  instinct  which  impels  them  from  church  to 
church  in  the  restless  and  exciting  occupation  of 
sampling  the  preaching  and  the  music,  or  else  to 
perform  some  pious  task  outside  or  to  attend  union 
evangelistic  services  in  secular  halls,  which  tend 
often  to  discredit  and  displace  in  the  thought  of 
Christians  the  regular  services  of  their  own  churches 
— to  maintain  public  worship  in  such  an  environ- 
ment, is  no  light  task.  It  is  a  problem  that  calls  for 
dogged  faith  and  exhaustless  patience.  In  the 
up-town  church,  solicitude  is  felt  for  the  second 
service;  in  the  down-town  church,  for  the  first. 

The  difficulties  of  the  situation  impel  some  of  us 
toward  sensationalism.  We  think  we  must  secure 
the  ear  of  the  pubHc  at  any  cost.  Our  seats  must 
be  filled  at  whatever  sacrifice  of  dignity  and  self- 
respect.  But  it  is  better  to  fail  on  right  principles 
than  to  succeed  on  wrong  ones.  Such  success  is 
short-lived.  The  very  swiftness  of  its  approach 
awakens  our  suspicion.  There  is  sure  to  be  a  de- 
pressing reaction.  We  are  like  the  Arab  who 
cuts  down  the  palm  to  get  the  dates.  He  succeeds 
this  year,  at  the  expense  of  next.  A  camp-stool 
congregation  neither  pays  nor  repents.  The  appe- 
tite for  sensational  deliverances,  like  the  taste  for 
confections,  grows  by  what  it  feeds  upon.  To  keep 
pace  with  this  morbid  taste,  we  must  all  the  time 
keep  sprinkling  in  sugar  and  spice  thicker.  The 
people  come  together  to  be  amused  and  excited. 
There  is  no  vital  coherence  through  social  or  spirit- 
ual affinity.    T^ke  away  the  clap-trap,  and  the  audi- 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  45 

cnce  dissolves,  like  snow  in  spring.  However  slow 
the  real  growth  of  our  church  it  must  always  be 
along  the  line  of  our  supplying  people,  not  with 
what  they  want,  but  with  what  they  need. 

No,  the  congregation  must  be  built  up,  if  at  all, 
through  slower  and  more  rational  processes.  We 
shall  reach  the  top  of  the  hill  only  by  following 
prosaic  and  winding  paths.  The  only  legitimate 
sensationalism  is  that  of  kindness.  Disinterested- 
ness is  so  scarce  in  a  large  town  that  if  you  stop  to 
perform  a  kind  act,  you  will  be  sure  to  produce  a 
sensation.  Against  sensationalism  of  this  kind 
there  is  no  law.  The  key-note  of  such  vast  organ- 
isms as  Dr.  Russell  H.  Conwell's  church  in  Phila- 
delphia, I  am  sure,  is  sympathy.  Church  Institution- 
alisvi  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  organized  kind- 
ness; and  in  the  long  run  this  will  bring  people  to 
church. 

Pastoral  visitation,  also,  kind-hearted,  systematic 
and  persistent,  will  incline  people  toward  the  church 
door.  Dr.  Cuyler  recommends  studying  the  Bible 
in  the  forenoon  and  door-plates  in  the  afternoon. 
My  own  practice  is  to  make  not  less  than  thirty, 
often  more  than  fifty  calls  a  week.  This  should  be 
kept  up  all  the  year  around.  The  minister's  success 
may  be  accurately  measured  by  the  size  and  char- 
acter of  his  calling-list.  Only  one  must  not  go 
round  and  round  in  beaten  paths,  visiting  the  same 
families  in  a  perfunctory  way.  Some  need  very  few 
visits,  being  already  firmly  attached  to  the  church. 
Others  it  is  best  to  drop  from  the  list,  when  it  is 
clear,  after  repeated  calls,  that  they  are  impervious 


46  THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH. 

to  church  influences.  A  prudent  dog  does  not  bark 
persistently  and  vehemently  at  a  tree  where  there  is 
no  squirrel.  Keep  adding  new  families  to  your  call- 
ing-list. Let  it  embrace  all  the  families  represented 
in  the  church,  congregation,  Sunday  school,  Young 
People's  Society,  kindergarten,  sewing  school,  gym- 
nastic classes,  and  all  other  societies  and  depart- 
ments of  the  church  —  as  well  as  all  families  that 
you  incidentally  learn  are  not  attending  any 
church.  A  rich  and  varied  calling-list  like  this  is 
invaluable  when,  either  by  mail  or  in  person,  you 
wish  to  apprise  your  people  of  some  special  occasion 
and  try  to  rally  your  whole  constituency.  In  this 
way  you  keep  your  army  in  a  continual  state  of 
mobilization. 

The  pastor,  himself,  should  make  parish  calls. 
This  work  cannot  be  delegated  to  assistants.  The 
visits  of  the  missionaries  should  merely  bridge  over 
the  chasm  between  the  pastor's  visits.  Such  visits 
are  very  helpful  to  the  minister's  social,  mental  and 
moral  life.  They  keep  his  heart  warm.  The  physi- 
cal exercise  required  is  wholesome.  The  tempta- 
tion is  to  linger  in  the  study.  One  hates  to  start 
out.  Pastoral  visitation  seems  to  be  the  very  drudg- 
ery of  ministerial  life.  But,  if  We  overcome  our 
repugnance  to  this  work  and  plunge  bravely  in, 
day  after  day,  we  come  home  at  the  end  of  the  after- 
noon all  in  a  glow  over  the  work  done,  resolved  to 
go  out  again  on  the  morrow,  and  only  remorseful 
because  we  have  not  done  more  of  this  kind  of  work 
in  the  past. 

One  should  carry  with  him  a  few  well-assorted 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  47 

tracts  with  a  pretty  picture  on  the  first  page  and  the 
church  notice  printed  on  the  last.  In  this  way  the 
children  are  conciliated,  a  message  is  borne  suited 
to  the  condition  of  each  member  of  the  household  — 
inquirers,  young  Christians,  the  sorrowing,  intem- 
perate, and  so  on, —  besides  a  definite  souvenir  of 
the  pastor's  visit  is  left  behind.  It  is  well,  also,  for 
us  to  carry  with  us  interesting  religious  papers, 
which  are  much  prized  by  the  sick  and  the  shut-in. 
Each  call  should  be  permeated  by  a  definite  relig- 
ious purpose.  Lead  the  conversation  from  the 
lower  ranges  of  gossip  and  business  up  to  a  higher 
spiritual  level.  As  George  Eliot  has  it:  "  Enter 
into  every  one's  feelings,  and  take  the  pressure  of 
their  thought,  instead  of  urging  your  own  with  iron 
resistance."  Monopolization  of  talk  is  the  beset- 
ting sin  of  ministers.  By  skilful  questioning,  and 
sympathetic  attention,  draw  out  from  each  heart  the 
story  of  its  suffering,  and  deftly  apply  the  medica- 
ments of  the  Gospel.  While  others  are  talking,  do 
not  have  a  sleepy,  far-away  look  in  your  eyes.  In 
the  case  of  the  sick,  inquire  about  appetite,  sleep, 
pain  and  so  on.  Take  a  bright  view  of  the  situation. 
Teach  the  simple  lesson  of  faith  to  the  dying. 
Leave  some  little  tract  which  may  be  slipped  under 
the  pillow,  containing  words  of  comfort  from  the 
Scriptures.  Sir  Walter  Scott,  when  dying,  re- 
quested his  son-in-law  to  read  to  him;  "  From  what 
book?  "  asked  Mr.  Lockhart,  glancing  at  the  library. 
"Need  you  ask?"  was  the  reply.  "There  is  but 
one ; "  and  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  Saint  John's 
Gospel  was  read. 


48  THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH. 

Ascertain,  as  far  as  you  can,  the  religious  status 
of  each  member  of  the  household,  and  strive  to 
attach  each  one  to  some  side  of  the  church  life. 
Point  inquirers,  especially  children,  to  Christ. 
Persuade  the  secret  believer  to  join  the  church. 
Invite  the  children  to  the  Sunday  school,  and  the 
young  men  and  women  to  the  Christian  Endeavor 
meeting  or  the  choir,  and  so  on.  Let  your  visit 
produce  definite  results,  and  not  evaporate  into 
merely  sentimental  intercourse. 

A  few  words  of  prayer  form  a  happy  ending  to 
the  pastor's  visit,  if  the  circumstances  are  favorable, 
and  the  family  give  their  consent.  Only  the  wor- 
ship should  be  very  informal.  By  the  sick  bed,  one 
needs  simply  to  bow  the  head  and  in  low  tones  to 
address  the  Savior  as  a  friend  standing  close  by. 
The  gift  of  a  few  simple  flowers  will  often  bring  a 
smile  of  grateful  pleasure  to  the  wan  lips  of  those 
who  suffer.  With  mute  eloquence  they  express 
your  sympathy,  and  suggest  the  Heavenly  Father's 
love. 

On  returning  home  from  our  pastoral  visits,  it 
is  well  for  us  to  jot  down  cases  of  need  or  suffering, 
and  any  thoughts  or  illustrations  that  have  occurred 
during  our  visits.  This  material  will  enrich  our 
private  devotions,  as  well  as  the  prayers  on  Sunday. 
Each  household  we  shall  find,  has  its  own  bitter- 
ness, and  joys  with  which  the  stranger  doth  not 
intermeddle.  If,  in  our  public  petitions,  we  carry 
these  experiences  in  our  minds,  describing  them,  but 
not  so  closely  as  to  betray  confidences,  our  people 
will  discover  that  we  are  in  vital  sympathy  with 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  49 

them,  and  our  prayers  will  be  pervaded  with  the 
spirit  of  deep  and  intelligent  intercession.  Often, 
too,  our  best  thoughts  come  to  us  in  conversation 
or  discussion.  ''Iron  sharpeneth  iron;  so  a  man 
sharpeneth  the  countenance  of  his  friend."  If  we 
can  say  to  our  people  on  Sunday  some  of  the  simple 
and  homely  things  which  we  said  to  them  as  indi- 
viduals when  they  poured  out  to  us  their  confidences 
in  their  homes,  our  sermons  will  gain  in  point  and 
pathos. 

Some  of  the  more  intelligent  and  spiritual  mem- 
bers of  our  churches  may  be  trained  to  visit  fami- 
lies with  something  of  the  spirit  and  method  of  the 
pastor.  To  each  one  may  be  assigned  a  group  of 
families  or  a  list  of  individuals  to  visit.  At  definite 
times  they  make  their  reports  to  the  minister.  Thus 
they  become  pastor's  assistants.  Families  should 
be  wisely  selected  according  to  ties  previously 
formed,  as  when  the  families  represented  in  a  Sun- 
day school  class  are  given  to  its  teacher,  to  be  vis- 
ited and  watched  over.  In  this  way,  little  by  little, 
the  church  and  congregation  will  be  divided  into 
convenient  groups,  large  or  small,  according  to  the 
time  which  the  visitor  is  able  to  give  to  the  work. 
Cases  of  sickness  and  distress  may  be  put  on  the 
lists  of  several  visitors,  so  that  they  may  receive 
frequent  calls.  I  have  not  found  the  indiscriminate 
and  wholesale  visitation  of  all  the  families  in  a  given 
neighborhood  productive  of  much  good.  The 
method  seems  too  mechanical.  I  would  rather  fol- 
low up  the  threads  of  influence  and  acquaintance 
which   Providence   puts   within   my   reach,    calling 


5©  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

Upon  those  whom  I  meet  at  the  services  of  the 
church,  or  in  any  of  the  departments  of  its  work. 

The  pastor  should  also  have  a  kind  of  oifice  hour 
daily,  when  he  is  accessible  to  those  who  desire 
sympathy  and  advice.  Inquirers  should  be  encour- 
aged to  come  to  him  instead  of  his  being  expected 
to  visit  them.  It  does  them  good  to  take  a  definite 
step  of  this  kind.  In  ancient  Rome,  the  Tribunes 
were  required  to  have  their  doors  open  night  and 
day,  that  the  victims  of  Patrician  injustice  and  cru- 
elty might  have  full  opportunity  to  bring  to  them 
the  story  of  their  wrongs.  The  minister,  I  suppose, 
must  have  his  hours  of  seclusion,  but  these  are  less 
likely  to  be  invaded,  if  the  people  know  that  there 
are  certain  times  each  day  when  they  can  have 
access  to  him.  One  of  the  old  Scotch  ministers 
used  to  say  that  the  man  who  wanted  to  see  him 
was  just  the  man  he  wanted  to  see.  The  minister 
who  is  invisible  six  days  of  the  week  will  be  incom- 
prehensible the  seventh. 

I  linger  over  this  difficult  problem  of  building  up 
a  Sunday  morning  congregation  in  a  spot  where 
social  currents  converge  against  us.  The  remedy 
does  not  lie  in  sensationalism.  Something  can  be 
done  through  the  tedious  processes  of  institution- 
alism,  by  which  I  mean  organized  kindness.  But 
I  set  great  store  by  pastoral  visitation  as  a  way  of 
fining  the  church.  There  must,  however,  be  a 
bright,  restful,  recreative  service.  Otherwise,  peo- 
ple will  not  come  a  second  time. 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  5 1 

II.  The  Service  as  a  Whole. 

There  should  be  the  best  possible  general  equip- 
ment. It  is  a  mistake  to  try  to  reach  the  "  sub- 
merged tenth  "  with  cheap  and  nasty  appliances. 
The  worst  off  need  the  best  we  have,  in  the  way  of 
architecture,  music,  preaching  and  all  the  rest.  I 
would  place  and  keep  the  most  beautiful  church 
edifices  down-town  —  like  old  Trinity  and  its 
daughter,  St.  Augustine's  Chapel,  lifting  her  fine 
facade  above  the  turbid  sea  of  tenement-houses. 
The  foreigners  that  come  among  us  are  accustomed 
to  classical  architecture  and  music  in  the  cities,  and 
even  the  smaller  towns  and  villages  of  Europe. 
How  vain  it  is  for  us  to  try  to  attract  and  to  impress 
them  with  crude,  inartistic  forms  and  sounds  — 
mission  halls  and  Salvation  Army  banners  and 
discords  — ! 

"  Taint  a  knowin'  kind  o'  cattle 
Thet  is  ketched  with  mouldy  corn." 

One  need  not  resort  to  the  amphitheatrical  church, 
with  its  toboggan  floor,  unless  one  expects  his 
audience  to  run  up  into  the  thousands.  Even  then, 
the  structure  will  prove  an  offence  to  the  cultivated 
taste.  Would  it  not  be  better  to  have,  as  Roman- 
ists do,  smaller  churches,  more  frequent  services 
and  a  larger  staff  of  ministers?  It  is  better  to  come 
into  close  contact  with  people  than  to  try  to  gather 
great  crowds  loosely  together  by  the  personal  mag- 
netism of  an  exceptional  speaker.  These  inspira- 
tional centers,   far  apart  as   they   must  be   in   the 


52  THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH. 

mature  of  the  case,  cannot  reach  down  deep  and 
<;flange  the  character  of  the  community.  This  can 
be  done  only  through  frequent  institutional  centers 
where  we  meet  people  often  and  at  close  quarters. 
A  minister  who  preaches  to  thousands  at  a  single 
service,  told  me  that  he  did  not  want  to  see  his 
people  between  Sundays. 

A  chaste  simple  basilica,  seating  less  than  one 
thousand  people,  will  perhaps  meet  every  aesthetic 
and  acoustic  requirement  for  a  given  neighborhood. 
If  it  becomes  uncomfortably  full,  increase  the  num- 
ber of  services  and  of  preachers.  It  is  more  import- 
ant that  the  poor  should  have  beautiful  churches 
than  the  rich.  Let  them  pass  from  the  squalor  of 
their  homes  into  a  new  and  different  world.  The 
rich  have  beautiful  objects  in  their  houses.  They 
may  well  be  content  with  plainness  in  the  house  of 
God.  But  when  we  gather  together  the  poor  and 
the  sad,  let  their  eyes,  grown  dim  with  tears  and 
weariness,  find  repose  and  inspiration  in  the  exqui- 
site arch,  and  the  opalescent  window,  through 
which  shimmer  the  suggestive  figures  of  martyrs 
and  saints.  Let  their  ears  hear  only  the  sweetest 
and  most  ennobling  strains.  Let  everything  that 
meets  the  senses  be  uplifting  and  educational. 

The  Sunday  morning  service  should  be  brief, 
varied,  interesting,  cheerful.  Worship,  appro- 
priately conducted,  has  a  high  recreative  value. 
We  rest  through  change  of  occupation.  The  stu- 
dent amuses  himself  rowing  a  boat,  but  the  galley 
slave  would  hardly  choose  that  form  of  recreation. 
Now  no  exercise  could  possibly  be  invented  more 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  53 

different  from  the  week-day  avocation  of  tlie  work- 
ingnian  than  going  to  church  on  Sunday.  He  is 
transported  into  a  fresh  realm  of  thought  and 
action.  The  new  and  beautiful  environment,  the 
atmosphere  of  social  sympathy,  the  friendly  greet- 
ings, the  inspiring  hymns,  in  which  he  himself  takes 
part,  the  fervent  prayers,  the  brief  sermon,  in  which 
the  minister  eloquently  unfolds  to  him  the  rich  and 
varied  lore  of  Holy  Scripture  —  its  history,  its 
poetry,  its  matchless  stories  and  parables,  its  spirit- 
ual suggestions, —  all  these  afford  him  pleasures 
that  efface  the  sensations  of  mental  and  physical 
exhaustion.  His  thoughts  run  in  new  channels. 
For  the  time  being,  at  least,  he  forgets  his  worries, 
his  resentments,  his  miseries.  Such  pleasures  are 
succeeded  by  no  remorseful  memories.  He  takes 
hold  of  his  work  on  Monday  morning  with  a  firmer 
grip,  for  having  spent  at  least  a  part  of  Sunday  in 
the  house  of  prayer,  instead  of  lounging  at  home 
and  brooding  over  his  cares  and  his  -wrongs,  or 
else  seeking  self-forgetfulness  in  the  saloon  with  its 
depressing  reactions,  or  even  visiting  the  seashore, 
which  he  and  his  family  can  generally  reach  only 
by  an  expensive  and  tiresome  journey.  And  even 
if  he  goes  to  Coney  Island  for  the  sea  air,  or  inland 
in  search  of  green  fields,  being  made  up  of  spirit, 
as  well  as  soul  and  body,  he  will  find  out  that  the 
Sunday  recreation  is  not  complete  without  at  least 
one  service  in  the  company  of  Christians.  The 
church  must  compete  with  the  world  in  the  recrea- 
tion of  humanity,  and  in  a  practical  way  fulfill  her 
Master's  own  word :    "  Come  to  me  and  I  will  give 


54  THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH. 

you  rest"  The  world,  too,  says :  "  Come  to  me 
and  /  will  give  you  rest."  We  must  prove  that  we 
can  rest  people  better  than  the  world  can.  Man- 
kind needs  more  refined  pleasures  than  those  of  the 
body  alone.  We  want  recreations  that  appeal  to 
what  is  deepest  in  us.  If  we  rest  only  the  physical 
and  mental  parts  of  our  being,  then  the  religious 
nature  is  left  unfed.  Conscience  keeps  grumbling 
like  a  tooth-ache.  Let  the  church,  then,  take  up  the 
challenge  of  the  world,  and  exert  herself  to  provide 
the  plain  people  with  wholesome,  recreative,  Sunday 
services.  The  working  man  will  soon  learn  that  he 
cannot  afford  to  keep  away  from  the  church,  and  to 
seek  his  rest  in  pleasures  that  leave  a  bitter  taste 
behind,  so  that  the  soul  is 

"  As  the  bird  that  bites  a  bee 
And  darts  abroad  on  frantic  wing, 
Tasting  the  honey  and  the  sting." 

The  Sunday  morning  service  should  be  symmetri- 
cal. The  emphasis  should  not  lie  exclusively  upon 
the  sermon,  all  the  rest  being  preliminary  and  inci- 
dental. Otherwise  when  the  sermon  is  a  poor  one, 
as  sometimes  happens,  the  whole  occasion  breaks 
down ;  and  the  people  go  away  hollow  and  ashamed. 
Let  the  services  reinforce  the  sermon,  so  that  we 
shall  be  strong  all  along  the  line.  Instead  of  the 
interest  flagging,  let  it  culminate  as  the  service 
advances.  Put  a  careful  finish  upon  even  the 
obscurest  details. 

In  the  service  there  should  be  a  happy  blending  of 
spontaneity    and    liturgical    formality.       Beautiful 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  55 

forms  of  devotion,  culled  from  the  ancient  rituals  or 
from  the  Psalms  of  David,  humanity's  best  Prayer- 
book,  used  at  the  opening  of  the  service  and  at  its 
close,  or  elsewhere  at  stated  intervals,  are  restful  and 
inspiring.  Monotony  has  her  own  charm.  The  tired 
spirit  settles  down  upon  a  form  of  prayer,  like  a 
storm-beaten  bird  upon  a  twig.  Christ,  Himself, 
prescribed  a  form.  '*  After  this  manner,  therefore, 
pray  ye,"  and  again;  "  When  ye  pray,  say."  In  the 
agony  of  the  garden,  He  Himself  praying  thrice, 
using  the  same  words;  and,  on  the  cross,  the  anguish 
of  His  spirit  voiced  itseli  in  a  Psalm,  familiar  to  Him 
from  His  childhood:  "  My  God!  My  God!  Why 
hast  Thou  forsaken  me?"  But,  while  forms  of 
prayer  have  a  priceless  value,  we  should  not  be 
fettered  by  them.  Often  the  warm  desires  of  the 
heart  instinctively  produce  fresh  moulds  of  expres- 
sion, and  amplest  room  should  be  made,  in  the  ser- 
vice, for  prayer  clothed  in  the  simple  language  born 
of  the  occasion. 

As  far  as  possible,  let  the  people  share  actively  in 
the  worship.  Let  the  Psalms  be  read  responsively. 
Let  all  repeat  in  unison  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the 
Apostles'  Creed.  As  in  the  apostolic  day,  let  the 
people  respond  to  the  prayers  and  hymns  with  the 
Anieji*  It  is  not  proper  for  the  minister  to  say 
Amen  to  his  own  prayer.  That  belongs  to  the  peo- 
ple to  say.  By  saying  Anicn,  they  indorse  the  prayer 
and  make  it  their  own.  The  Anicn  should  occur 
only  at  the  end  of  the  prayer,  a  spoken  word,  not  an 
inarticulate  groan.     More  will  join  in  the  Amen,  if 

*  I  Cor.,  xiv,  i6. 


$6  THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH. 

it  is  sung,  than  if  it  is  simply  spoken  without  music. 
Peach  the  people  to  join  in  all  the  hymns  and  chants, 
so  that  the  whole  congregation  will  become  a  great 
chorus  choir.  The  best  rubric  is  the  most  ancient 
one  of  all,  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  St.  Paul's  Epistle 
to  the  Corinthians.  How  refreshing  is  his  breezy 
common  sense!  PubHc  worship  should  be  instruc- 
tive and  aesthetic;  that  is  all.  God  is  not  the  author 
of  confusion,  but  of  peace.  Let  all  things  be  done 
decently  and  in  order. 

A  perfect  service  cannot  be  built  up  over  night. 
Its  growth  may  require  years.  You  will  find  an 
order  already  in  use,  and  people  are  very  sensitive 
to  the  slightest  change  in  the  service  to  which  they 
are  accustomed.  My  advice  is  to  proceed  cautiously, 
introducing  changes  very  gradually,  and  only  after 
you  are  thoroughly  entrenched  in  the  confidence 
and  affection  of  the  people. 

Our  own  order  of  service  is  as  follows: 

I.  Organ  voluntary. 

II .  Gloria  or  Sanctus. 

III.  Invocation. 

IV.  Responsive  Reading  from  the  Psalms. 
V.  Hymn. 

VI.  Old  Testament  Scripture. 

VII.  Chant. 

VIII.  New  Testament  Scripture. 

IX.  Chant. 

X.  Hymn. 

XI.  Notices. 

XII.  Sermon. 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH.  57 


XIIT. 

Offertory. 

XIV. 

Hymn. 

XV. 

Prayer. 

XVI. 

Benediction. 

III.  The  Service  in  Detail. 

I.  The  Communion. —  We  have  found  it  very 
helpful  to  observe  the  Communion  every  Sunday 
morning.  This  seems  to  accord  with  the  primitive 
custom  of  the  church,  the  early  Christians  meeting 
on  the  first  day  of  the  week  to  break  bread.  Besides, 
the  members  of  a  down-town  church  are  so  widely 
scattered,  and  their  attendance  upon  public  worship 
is  necessarily  so  desultory,  that  it  is  peculiarly  whole- 
some and  comfortable  for  them,  whenever  they  come 
to  church  of  a  Sunday  morning,  to  find  awaiting 
them  the  simple  repast  that  so  vividly  and  patheti- 
cally symbolizes  Christ's  sufferings  and  death  on 
their  behalf,  and  their  deep  mystical  union  with  Him 
through  faith  and  love.  Otherwise,  a  long  period 
might  elapse  without  their  sharing  in  this  social  rite, 
which  constitutes  the  very  essence  of  their  member- 
ship in  the  visible  and  local  church.  It  is  our  cus- 
tom, on  the  first  Sunday  of  the  month  to  hold  Com- 
munion at  the  close  of  the  morning  preaching  ser- 
vice. The  attendance  on  that  occasion  is  large.  On 
the  other  Sundays  of  the  month  the  Communion 
precedes  the  morning  preaching  service  —  being  a 
kind  of  early  Communion  —  where  the  attendance 
is  small,  but  the  worship  correspondingly  sweeter. 
Let  the  Communion  be  brief.  In  the  very  nature  of 
the  case,  sign  language  is  most  vivid  when  first  pre- 


58  THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH. 

sented  to  the  eye,  and  loses  rather  than  gains  in 
impressiveness,  when  too  long  continued.  Com- 
munion should  not  be  a  doleful  repast,  but  suffused 
with  solemn  joy.  The  prayers  should  be  short,  like 
grace  at  meat.* 

2.  The  Sermon. —  This  subject  will  be  treated  by 
itself  in  the  following  chapter. 

3.  Church  Music. —  This  will  be  taken  up  in 
Chapter  IV,  when  we  come  to  treat  of  the  Sunday 
Afternoon  and  Evening  Services. 

4.  Public  Prayer. —  In  Public  Prayer,  we  voice 
the  needs,  as  best  we  can,  of  the  people  in  company 
with  whom  we  pray,  either  using  appropriate  forms 
of  prayer  compiled  from  the  Psalms  of  David  and 
the  ancient  liturgies  of  the  church,  or  out  of  a  full 
heart,  making  our  requests  in  the  simple  language 
suggested  by  the  occasion.  Such  prayer  should  be 
brief,  artless,  unrepetitious.  We  approach  God  with 
awe  —  neither  too  familiarly,  nor  with  cringing  fear, 
rather  as  a  child  speaks  to  his  parent.  We  should 
think  of  this  part  of  the  service  beforehand,  and  not 
regard  it  as  slight  or  perfunctory.  A  glance  at  the 
faces  of  the  worshippers,  before  we  pray,  will  some- 
times awaken  fresh  sympathy,  and  suggest  some 
new  need  or  sorrow  to  mention  in  our  prayer. 

5.  Scripture  Reading. —  The  best  rule  for  Scrip- 
ture Reading  is  one  found  in  the  Scripture  itself: 
So  they  read  in  the  book,  in  the  lazv  of  God,  distinctly, 

*  In  a  large  heterogeneous  congregation,  the  use  of 
individual  Communion  cups  has  seemed  to  us  more 
cleanly  and  hygienic.  They  save  time  without  marring 
the  beauty  and  solemnity  of  the  service. 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  59 

and  gave  the  sense,  and  caused  them  to  understand  the 
reading.     (Neh.  viii,  8.) 

6.  Giving  Notices. —  As  regards  Giving  Notices, 
it  is  well  to  have  a  printed  Calendar  of  Worship; 
and,  besides  this,  in  a  simple  and  familiar  way,  take 
your  people  into  your  confidence  as  to  the  worship 
and  work  of  the  week. 

7.  Tlie  Offertory . —  The  offertory  will  be  touched 
upon  later  —  in  the  chapter  on  The  Institutional 
Church  and  Finance. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

Worship  —  The  Sermon.^ 

I.  The  Character  of  the  Sermon.  What  kind  of 
a  sermon  is  required  at  the  morning  service  of  an 
Institutional  Church? 

I.  The  sermon  should  be  expository.  All  real 
preaching  may  be  defined  as  the  interpretation  of 
Holy  Scripture.  In  preaching  we  take  a  portion  of 
the  Word  of  God,  give  its  true  sense,  make  it 
vivid  and  interesting  by  means  of  illustrations  and 
apply  it  to  the  personal,  social  and  political  behav- 
ior of  our  hearers.  The  preacher  is  the  interpreter. 
A  Persian  poet  says: 

"  I  am  a  kind  of  parrot;  the  mirror  is  holden  to  me; 
What  the  Eternal  says,  I  stammering  say  again." 

The  Infinite  God  has  come  within  the  reach  of 


6o  THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH. 

our  thought  and  affection  in  the  radiant  personality 
of  Jesus  Christ.  The  Bible  is  the  history  of  Christ, 
Who,  in  His  life  and  character  transcends  the  larg- 
est conception  which  the  human  mind  can  form  of 
the  Divine.  It  is  the  mirror  in  which  our  slanting 
gaze  is  fronted  by  the  gleaming  form  of  Jesus  — 
the  express  image  of  the  Divine  Person, —  as  the 
mountain  is  reflected  on  the  glassy  surface  of  the 
lake.  While  we  look,  we  ourselves  are  gradually 
transfigured  onto  the  same  image.  There  is  no 
new  truth  in  religion  since  the  Bible.  It  contains 
all  we  need  of  revelation,  and  we  may  well  pray 
God  with  Luther  that  we  may  not  see  any  vision  or 
miracle,  nor  be  informed  in  dreams,  since  we  have 
enough  to  learru  in  His  Word.  Miracle  was  the 
seal  of  revelation,  and,  in  the  nature  of  the  case, 
ceased  with  the  completion  of  the.  sacred  volume. 
It  is  the  office  of  the  minister  to  show  Christ,  as  He 
is  revealed  in  the  Scriptures,  like  dim  twilight,  in 
the  Old  Testament,  like  the  rising  sun,  in  the  New. 
If  Christ  be  lifted  up,  the  Holy  Spirit  will  draw  the 
beholders  to  Him. 

Such  preaching  disarms  criticism,  and  makes 
even  praise  seem  an  impertinence.  I  once  heard 
Dr.  John  A.  Broadus  preach  a  sermon.  It  was  a 
simple  running  commentary  on  the  eighth  chapter 
of  Romans.  At  the  close  of  the  service,  when  I 
told  him  how  much  I  enjoyed  his  sermon,  he 
replied,  with  a  humorous  twinkle  in  his  eye,  that  of 
course  it  was  a  good  sermon,  as  it  was  not  his  own 
thought,  but  the  words  of  the  Apostle  which  he  had 
tried  to  make  plain.     If  we  would  try  to  do  some- 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  6 1 

thing  like  this,  instead  of  aspiring  to  some  brilHant 
intellectual  performance,  we  would  be  spared  many 
an  anxious  hour.  It  was  good  advice  that  a  min- 
ister's wife  once  gave  him  as  he  was  starting  ou/ 
from  home  to  preach  on  an  important  occasion. 
"  Give  them  the  sermon  you  preached  last  Sunday 
morning;  for  if  you  try  to  preach  a  great  sermon, 
you  will  make  a  fool  of  yourself."  If  we  do  not 
model  our  sermon  on  a  review  article,  but  simply 
endeavor  in  an  interesting  way  to  interpret  some 
passage  of  Scripture,  as  a  father  would  make  it  plain 
to  his  children  at  family  prayers,  or  as  a  good  Bible- 
class  teacher  would  open  it  up  to  his  scholars,  then 
we  would  not  be  dismayed  at  the  prospect  of  preach- 
ing twice  every  Sunday.  It  ought  not  to  seem  an 
impossible  task  to  an  intelligent  Christian  to  ponder 
two  passages  of  Scripture  during  the  week  and 
explain  their  meaning  to  others  on  Sunday.  So 
vital  is  Holy  Scripture,  that  a  portion  of  it  can- 
not He  in  soak  for  several  days  in  a  person's  mind, 
without  germinating,  and  producing  a  rich  harvest 
of  lessons  and  suggestions.  The  plain  people  are 
always  interested  in  this  kind  of  preaching.  An 
indolent  habit,  however,  should  be  guarded  against. 
Every  passage  will  yield  a  logical  analysis  to  close 
reflection,  so  that  no  one  need  pursue,  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  Scripture,  the  method  of  the  minister  of 
whom  it  was  said  that  being  a  true  successor  to  the 
Apostles,  when  persecuted  in  one  verse  he  fled  into 
another. 

Serial  Preaching  has  its  advantages.     The  people 
gain   a    coherent    knowledge    of    Scripture.     They 


62  THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

come  to  church  more  regularly  in  order  to  hear  all 
the  sermons  in  a  given  course.  Less  time  is  re- 
quired by  the  minister  in  the  selection  of  the 
text,  and  so  he  can  give  more  time  to  the 
direct  study  of  the  sermon.  During  a  long  pastor- 
ate, one  can,  little  by  little,  traverse  large  tracts  of 
Scripture.  Only  each  series  should  be  brief,  so  as 
not  to  open  up  too  tiresome  a  prospect.  In  John 
one  could  have  a  series  on  The  Beginnings  of  Chris- 
tendom, the  first  chapter;  a  series  on  The  Nezv  Birth, 
the  third  chapter;  a  series  on  The  Samaritan  Woman, 
the  fourth  chapter;  a  series  on  The  Blind  Man,  the 
ninth  chapter;  a  series  on  Christ's  Farewell  Dis- 
course, chapters  xiv,  xv  and  xvi;  a  series  on  St. 
John's  Record  of  the  Passion,  chapter  xviii  and  xix; 
a  series  on  St.  John's  Record  of  the  Resurrection, 
chapters  xx  and  xxi;  and  so  at  different  times,  far 
apart  it  may  be,  the  people,  without  being  aware  of 
it,  would  have  gradually  embraced,  in  their  Sunday 
meditation,  the  whole  of  that  blessed  Gospel.  An 
Epistle  may  be  taken  up  in  the  same  way.  The 
whole  Hfe  of  Christ  may  be  divided  into  different 
series,  and  taken  up  at  different  times,  so  that  the 
people  may  study  it  piecemeal,  without  the  sense  of 
weariness  that  would  attend  the  task  of  studying 
that  great  life  all  in  one  long  series  of  sermons. 
Peter  in  the  Gospels  makes  a  good  series,  if  the  prin- 
cipal events  of  his  life  be  studied  on  Sunday,  and 
the  minor  incidents  perhaps,  at  the  intervening 
prayer-meetings.  And  then  we  might  take  up 
Peter  in  the  Acts;  and  then  Peter's  Conception  of 
Christ  as  given  in  his  First  Epistle.    St.  Paul  could 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH.  63 

be  studied  in  the  same  way,  or  some  Old  Testament 
character  hke  Saul  or  David.  A  series  of  good  ser- 
mons may  be  preached  on  Gleaming  Passages  in 
Romans,  The  Ti^'enty -third  Psalm,  The  Lord's  Prayer, 
The  Parable  of  the  Sower,  The  Panoply  of  God,  in 
Ephesians,  vi;  Christian  Love,  in  I  Cor.,  xiii;  The 
Resurrection  of  the  Body,  in  I  Cor.,  xv;  The  Messages 
to  the  Churches,  in  Revelation;  all  these  subjects  and 
a  hundred  others,  would  prove  attractive  and  fruitful 
if  subjected  to  serial  treatment.  The  Rev.  Dr. 
George  Dana  Boardman,  of  Philadelphia,  during  a 
pastorate  of  thirty  years  traversed  the  whole  Bible 
in  courses  of  Expository  Lectures,  given  on  Wed- 
nesday evenings,  quite  apart  from  the  Sunday  ser- 
vices and  the  regular  week-night  prayer-meeting. 
What  a  splendid  achievement  to  look  back  upon, 
as  a  result  of  incidental  study!  I  question  whether 
it  can  be  paralleled  in  modern  Christian  history. 

In  all  reproduction  of  scriptural  scenes  the 
preacher  should  take  his  stand  at  the  human  point 
of  view,  and  not  at  the  Divine.  Instead  of  trying 
to  put  yourself  in  the  place  of  Christ,  enter  by  imag- 
ination into  the  experience  of  the  sufiferer  who  is 
healed,  and  view  the  world  through  his  eyes.  In 
the  case  of  Peter's  wife's  mother,  the  commonplace 
way  is  for  us  to  approach  the  subject  from  the  stand- 
point of  Christ,  following  Him  from  the  synagogue 
to  Peter's  home.  It  is  better  to  begin  with  the  sick 
woman.  She  is  one  of  those  for  whom  ministers 
pray,  who  are  kept  at  home  from  church  by  illness. 
She  feels  so  disappointed  that  she  cannot  go  to  the 
synagogue  to  hear  Jesus!     She  learns  that  Peter  i^ 


64  THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH. 

going  to  bring  him  home  to  dinner.     "  Cornpany 
is  always  sure  to  come  when  I  am  least  prepared; 
what  a  state  the  house  is  in.     And  I  lying  helpless  on 
my  back!  "     She  overhears  the  conversation  at  the 
door.     Jesus   enters  the  room,   making  it  radiant 
with  His  kind  look.     He  approaches  the  bed  with 
a  reassuring  word.     In  this  way  the  whole  scene 
becomes  modern  and  realistic.     Look  out  upon  life 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  leper,  as  Lew  Wallace 
does  in  Ben  Hur.     Sit  down  on  the  dusty  pavement 
by  the  side  of  the  blind  beggar  at  the  temple  gate, 
and  with  the  almost  preternatural  keenness  of  ear 
tliat  belongs  to  the  blind,  listen  to  the  shufHing  feet  of 
Jesus  and  His  disciples  as  they  approach  you  when 
leaving   the   temple.     Overhear   that    conversation 
which  caught  the  attention  of  the  blind  man  and 
awakened  the  first  flutter  of  hope  even  in  his  sad 
heart.     Then  trace  out  the  history  of  his  faith,  from 
its  first  beginning  through  all  its  struggles,  till  at 
last  he  can  say  to  his  Redeemer:     "  Lord,  I  believe." 
Share  with  the  sisters  of  Bethany  their  distress  over 
their  younger  brother's  illness,  their  reluctance  to 
send  word  to  Jesus,  and  their  perplexity,  when,  after 
Lazarus  has  been  buried,  there  comes  back  to  them 
the   cold,   telegraphic   message,    ''  This   sickness   is 
not  unto  death,  but  for  the  glory  of  God,  that  the 
Son  of  God  might  be  glorified  thereby."     What  can 
the   Master  mean?     But  this  germinal  word   pro- 
duces hope  in  the  breast  even  of  Martha,  so  that  she 
says  upon  meeting  Jesus:     ''  I  know  that  even  now 
whatsoever  Thou  wilt  ask  of  God,  God  will  give -it 
Thee,"     Trace   the   development   of   this   incipient 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  65 

faith,  and  observe  how  Jesus  who  originated  it 
tenderly  nurses  it,  and  finally,  at  the  critical  moment, 
when  it  threatens  to  collapse,  hastens  to  its  succor 
with  the  words,  "  Said  I  not  unto  thee,  that  if  thou 
wouldst  believe,  thou  shouldst  see  the  glory  of 
God?" — the  very  echo  of  that  first  strange,  reas- 
suring word  which  He  had  sent  her  from  Perea. 
So  with  other  New  Testament  scenes  and  events. 
We  can  always  interest  our  people  if  we  only  put 
ourselves  in  the  place,  not  of  the  Great  Physician, 
but  of  the  erring,  suffering  human  creatures  to 
whom  He  ministered. 

2.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  sermon  in  the 
Institutional  Church  should  be  cxtcniporancous, 
unless,  indeed,  one  can  read  his  sermon  with  the 
charming  freshness  and  spontaneity  that  used  to 
characterize  the  late  William  M.  Taylor,  at  his  time 
the  greatest  preacher  in  our  city.  One  may,  per- 
haps, commit  his  sermon  to  memory,  so  giving  the 
impression  of  extemporaneousness,  while  clothing 
his  thought  with  the  elaborate  and  refined  diction 
which  comes  only  from  patient  and  leisurely  study. 
Speech,  purely  extemporaneous,  has,  however,  a 
pleasant  effervescence  which  seems  to  evaporate 
from  more  studied  discourse.  Paper  is  apt  to  slip 
in  between  a  preacher  and  his  people  —  a  thin  but 
impervious  barrier.  Human  nature  is  charmed  with 
the  spontaneity  of  extemporaneous  speech,  except 
in  the  case  of  those  who  have  a  reputation  for  intel- 
lectuality to  maintain,  and  who  school  themselves 
to  admire  written  discourses.  Such  people  would 
afifect  to  prefer  the  polished  and  burnished  rhetoric 


66  THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH. 

of  Dean  Farrar  to  the  simple  and  robust  eloquence 
of  Mr.  Spurgeon.  Off-hand  speech  has,  indeed,  a 
certain  looseness  and  repetitiousness.  But  even 
this  is  an  advantage  in  oral  discourse.  Food,  in 
order  to  be  digestible,  must  contain  a  certain  amount 
of  waste.  One  does  not  like  to  eat  clear  cheese. 
Thought  that  is  too  condensed  cannot  be  thoroughly 
assimilated  by  the  average  hearer.  The  compact 
style  of  a  vy^ritten  discourse  requires  of  the  listener 
too  great  mental  tension.  If  he  loses  a  single  sen- 
tence, or  even  a  phrase  or  word,  the  sense  of  the 
whole  is  lost;  while  the  extemporaneous  preacher  is 
apt  to  linger  and  repeat  his  thought  in  different 
forms;  and,  as  Herbert  Spencer  says,  ''  Only  by 
varied  iteration  can  alien  conceptions  be  forced  on 
reluctant  minds." 

In  extemporaneous  speech,  we  either  do  our  best 
or  our  worst,  either  hit  the  bull's-eye,  or  go  wide 
of  the  mark;  but  one  would  rather  miss  with  a  rifle 
than  hit  with  a  shotgun.  In  a  written  discourse 
we  are  less  dependent  on  mood  and  environment. 
In  the  glow  of  a  great  occasion,  when  one  is  en 
rapport  with  a  sympathetic  audience  and  treating 
an  interesting  theme,  he  will  attain  to  a  certain 
energy  and  facility  of  speech,  which  would  be  impos- 
sible in  the  quiet  of  the  study;  or  else  he  will  be 
chilled  by  an  irresponsive  audience,  and  fall  far 
below  the  level  of  thought  reached  in  hours  of 
solitude. 

In  preaching  extemporaneously  we  need  to  have 
a  very  clear  analysis.  We  must  know  beforehand 
what  we  are  going  to  say  —  the  lessons,  the  illustra- 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH.  67 

tions,  the  quotations,  the  scripture  references,  hav- 
ing everything  arranged  in  a  symmetrical  and  cumu- 
lative order.  The  mere  vestment  of  the  thought  is 
all  that  we  leave  to  the  occasion.  It  is  well,  too,  to 
determine  beforehand  the  exact  language  for  the 
first  few  sentences,  and  for  the  closing  paragraph. 
Sometimes  our  best  thought  will  come  to  us  in  the 
glow  of  pubHc  discourse.  If  so,  let  us  use  it;  but 
it  will  not  do  for  us  to  depend  upon  its  coming. 

Extemporaneous  speech,  then,  is  extemporaneous 
only  as  regards  the  language  in  which  our  thought 
is  clothed.  The  ideas  themselves  must  be  carefully 
thought  out  beforehand,  and  such  a  sermon  may 
require  more  real  study  than  a  written  discourse. 
The  minister  who  writes  out  two  sermons  for  Sun- 
day is  apt  to  do  a  lot  of  extemporaneous  writing. 
We  must,  as  far  as  we  can,  habitually  associate  with 
cultivated  people,  whose  tones,  inflections  and  idioms 
are  pure  and  refined.  While  we  do  not  write  the 
sermon  we  are  going  to  preach,  we  keep  our  pen 
wet,  day  by  day,  endeavoring  to  produce  other  lit- 
erature of  permanent  value.  I  do  not  mean  desul- 
tory letter-writing.  Careful  writing  every  day 
improves  our  style  of  speaking,  enriching  our  vocab- 
ulary, and  promoting  a  habit  of  nice  discrimination 
in  the  choice  of  words.  And  Vv  e  should  let  no  day 
pass  without  our  reading  from  some  good  author, 
familiarity  with  whose  style  cannot  fail  of  improving 
our  own. 

Why  should  we  shrink  from  preaching  without 
notes?  Public  address  is  only  expanded  conversa- 
tion, and  if  I  have  the  audacity  to  present  my  unwrit- 


6&  THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH. 

ten  views  to  a  man  alone  in  a  parlor,  why  should  I 
fear  to  address  without  notes  an  audience  made  up 
of  individuals,  and  possessing  generally  less  heart 
and  conscience  and  intelligence  than  the  individual 
has  when  he  is  alone  by  himself.  Besides,  you  may 
safely  assume  that,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  you 
know  more  about  the  special  subject  you  are  treat- 
ing than  anyone  else  who  is  present,  since  it  is  a 
subject  to  which  you  have  for  several  days  been 
giving  particular  attention. 

3.  In  order  to  attract  and  to  hold  the  common 
people,  our  preaching  must  be  copiously  illustrated. 
Abstract  truths  must  be  presented  in  concrete  forms. 
The  listener  will  sometimes  leave  behind  all  the  rest, 
and  carry  away  only  a  single  illustration.  One 
good  case  in  point  will  often  save  a  sermon. 
Christ's  teachings  abound  in  parables  and  object 
lessons.  This  is  why  the  common  people  heard 
Him  gladly, 

"  For  wisdom  dealt  with  mortal  powers, 
Where  truth  in  closest  words  shall  fail. 
When  truth  embodied  in  a  tale 
Shall  enter  in  at  lowly  doors." 

Some  ministers  hesitate  to  make  use  of  a  simple 
story  in  the  pulpit.  It  seems  to  them  undignified 
and  out  of  character.  But  the  story  has  its  use.  It 
saves  the  discourse  from  dullness.  Only  it  should 
never  be  comical  or  irreverent,  or  lugged  in,  or  long- 
drawn-out.  A  delicate  vein  of  humor  is  admissible, 
especially  such  as  often  glimmers  in  a  fresh  and 
realistic  reproduction  of  some  scriptural  scene,  as  a 
fish   turns   up  his  glistening  side   in   a  dark  pool. 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH.  69 

Christ's  saying's  are  often  best  punctuated  with  a 
smile.     Preachers  are  too  shy  of  humor.     They 

"  Suspect  the  azure  blossom 

That  unfolds  upon  a  shoot. 
As  if  wisdom's  old  potato 

Could  not  flourish  at  its  root." 

But  humor  should  never  be  introduced  for  its  own 
sake,  and  it  is'  easy  to  go  too  far  on  this  path. 
"  Well,"  said  a  gentleman;  "  It  is  only  a  step  from 
the  sublime  to  the  ridiculous!  "  ''  Ah,"  replied  his 
friend;  "  If  it  were  only  a  step  back  again!  "  The 
illustrations  should  illustrate,  and  not  so  dazzle  the 
eye  as  to  obscure  the  truth  we  are  trying  to  show. 
People  often  remember  the  illustration,  but  forget 
the  lesson.  The  illustration  must  be  apt,  and  the 
better  it  is,  the  harder  it  will  be  for  us  ever  to  use 
it  a  second  time.  Many  a  preacher  is  charming  in 
the  parlor  or  even  on  the  platform,  but  phenom- 
enally dull  in  the  pulpit.  He  seems  to  have  a  genius 
for  muffling  his  thoughts  in  holy  tones  and  pious 
commonplaces.  You  wonder  what  has  become  of 
the  delightful  fellow  whom  you  met  on  the  tennis 
field.  He  seems  to  have  stepped  out  at  the  back 
door.  A  minister  should  not  make  it  a  matter  of 
conscience  to  leave  out  all  the  Attic  salt  from  his 
Sunday  discourses  —  the  bright,  homely  illustra- 
tions with  which  his  week-day  conversations  sparkle. 
If  he  could  only  learn  in  the  pulpit  to  divest  himself 
of  his  professional  character  and  drop  into  the 
sweet,  simple  speech  of  the  common  people! 

One  must  be  on  the  constant  watch  for  illustra- 
tions.    The   habit  of  observation   becomes   second 


70  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

nature.  We  not  only  perceive  objects  and  events 
but  discern  their  moral  and  spiritual  import.  One 
soon  learns  to  adopt  and  to  use  a  comprehensive 
and  workable  system  for  gathering  up  and  preserv- 
ing stray  thoughts,  like  Todd's  Index  Rerum.  You 
read,  with  pencil  at  hand,  some  history,  or  biogra- 
phy, or  scientific  work,  or  book  of  travels,  or  maga- 
zine, or  review,  and  when  a  fact  occurs  which  has 
a  homiletical  value,  you  mark  the  passage  and  write 
down  the  number  of  the  page  on  the  fly-leaf  of  the 
book  you  are  reading.  Then,  on  completing  the 
volume,  you  look  up  these  passages,  read  them  over 
again,  and  if  they  still  seem  to  you  worthy  of  preser- 
vation, you  refer  to  them  each  on  a  single  line  of 
your  Index  Rerum,  under  some  proper  subject, 
indicating  exactly  the  volume  and  page  where  they 
can  be  found  again.  In  reading  the  Bible  or  some 
book  of  poetry,  a  sententious  saying  catches  your 
eye.  It  may  serve  sometime  as  a  quotation  to 
clinch  an  argument,  or  to  rivet  your  thought  to  the 
mind  of  your  hearer.  You  write  down  the  quota- 
tion in  fine  script  between  two  lines  of  your  Index 
Rerum,  giving  the  chapter  and  verse.  It  requires 
good  nerve  to  recite  a  quotation  in  public  giving  its 
exact  words.  The  memory  needs  to  be  trained  to 
this.  And  you  may  have  to  repeat  a  verse  of  Script- 
ure or  a  passage  of  poetry  over  a  good  many  times 
during  the  week,  before  you  will  dare  to  quote  it 
to  your  audience  in  the  excitement  of  preaching. 
But  such  quotations  have  a  peculiar  power  over  an 
audience.  Especially  the  quaint  old  English  of  the 
Authorized  Version,  with  its  strange  spell,  will  pro- 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH.  7I 

duce  a  hush  throughout  any  congregation.  In 
conversation,  thoughts  occur  to  you  which  you 
enter  in  your  note-book  for  final  preservation  in 
your  Index  Rerum.  Even  Emerson,  with  his  rare 
mental  fecundity,  used  to  practice  systematic  econ- 
omy of  this  kind.  He  used  to  rise  in  the  middle  of 
the  night  to  corral  a  stray  thought.  It  is  said  that 
before  his  second  wife  got  used  to  his  ways,  she 
would  ask  him,  when  he  rose  to  strike  a  light, 
"Are  you  ill,  husband?"  "No,"  he  would  reply, 
"  Only  an  idea."  I  fancy  that  if  we  were  to  inquire 
too  curiously  into  the  secret  of  the  variety,  freshness 
and  spontaneity  of  such  authors  as  Dickens,  or 
Charles  Reade,  we  would  find  it  to  He  in  a  rigid 
economy  of  resources,  due  to  a  system  of  treasuring 
up  the  odds  and  ends  of  thought  which  run  through 
the  ordinary  memory  as  through  a  sieve.  "  To 
swallow  one's  disgusts,"  says  Carlyle,  "  and  do 
faithfully  the  ugly  commanded  work,  taking  no 
counsel  with  flesh  and  blood  —  know  that  genius 
everywhere  in  nature  means  this  first  of  all;  that, 
without  this  it  means  nothing, —  generally  less." 
In  an  address  to  students,  Max  Miiller  recommends 
Indexes  as  the  chief  armaments  of  a  scholar's  fort- 
ress. He  says :  ''  I  still  remember  the  time  —  if 
my  memory  serves  me  right  —  when  Lobeck,  in  a 
controversy  with  Hermann  replied  with  great  com- 
placency :  '  Ah,  but  I  have  a  better  index  to 
Phrynichus  than  he  has.' " 

In  glancing  through  the  daily  paper  or  other 
ephemeral  literature  you  will  find  items  of  interest 
that   will    serve   to   illustrate   ethical    and    religious 


72  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

principles.  Facts,  events,  incidents,  and  brief 
poems,  sometimes  of  a  high  order,  catch  your  eye 
for  an  instant,  and  then  pass  away  never  to  return. 
We  need  a  scrap-book  and  ordinary  letter-file,  the 
former  for  the  little  pieces,  the  latter  for  larger 
extracts.  In  this  way  much  valuable  matter  is  filed 
away  for  future  use,  and  can  easily  be  found  again, 
if  adequate  reference  is  made  to  it  in  the  Index 
Rerum. 

Said  a  Persian  sage :  "  I  will  drink  up  the  ocean, 
if  you  stop  up  the  rivers  flowing  into  it,"  and  the 
average  congregation  will  exhaust  the  minister's 
reservoir  of  thought,  unless  it  is  being  ceaselessly 
fed  by  countless  rills.  The  silkworm  is  sometimes 
afflicted  with  an  intestinal  parasite,  and  then  it  will 
go  through  all  the  processes  of  spinning  without 
producing  silk.  If  we  do  not  keep  our  minds  con- 
stantly stored  with  fresh  thought,  we  shall  soon  find 
ourselves  going  through  the  same  pathetic  round 
of  fruitless  effort  —  the  spirit  praying,  but  the 
understanding  remaining  unfruitful.  The  system  I 
have  described  will  help  to  keep  our  reservoir  full. 
Streams  will  flow  into  it  from  domestic,  social,  and 
pastoral  life,  from  history,  from  nature,  from  litera- 
ture, from  the  Bible,  from  the  daily  press.  The 
minister,  like  the  black  bass,  should  roam  far  and 
wide  for  his  food.  His  illustrations  should  not  all 
be  of  one  kind.  They  should  indicate  a  large  range 
of  thought  and  reading.  The  streams  that  feed  his 
mental  life  should  drain  a  wide  territory. 

In  using  the  thoughts  of  other  people,  one  must 
take  great  pains   to  give  ample  credit.     The   raw 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH.  73 

facts  of  science  and  of  history  are  common  prop- 
erty. If  I  take  a  fact  and  draw  a  lesson  out  of  it, 
unveiling  its  inner  spiritual  meaning,  it  becomes 
my  own.  It  has  passed  through  the  mill  of  my  own 
thinking,  and  bears  the  stamp  of  my  own  individual- 
ity. If  someone  else  has  drawn  a  moral  lesson  from 
it,  I  cannot  use  that  lesson  without  giving  him 
credit.  Otherwise,  I  am  guiky  of  plagiarism, 
though  the  thought  be  clothed  in  my  own  language. 
The  mention  of  other  thinkers  gives  interest  to  a 
sermon.  People  prick  up  their  ears  when  they  hear 
a  proper  name.  It  will  produce  a  silence  in  any 
audience.  You  are  reinforced  in  your  own  position 
by  the  authority  of  another.  Your  people  become 
acquainted  with  different  authors,  to  the  enlarge- 
ment of  their  own  mental  horizon.  They  do  not 
think  less  of  their  minister,  for  his  evident  familiar- 
ity with  good  literature.  A  listener  will  sometimes 
buy  a  book  on  the  strength  of  his  pastor's  allusion 
to  it. 

Thought  embodied  in  highly  organized  literary 
forms,  as  in  poetry,  essays,  orations,  sermons,  and 
the  like,  is  of  less  use  to  a  minister  than  historical 
and  scientific  works  that  contain  the  raw  material 
for  illustration.  Such  thought  must  be  carried 
over  l^odily  in  the  form  of  quotation.  Poetry  has 
great  inspirational  value,  but  is  of  little  use  in  ser- 
mons except  as  it  is  quoted.  I  would  not  read 
beforehand  a  sermon  by  Robertson  upon  a  subject 
which  I  proposed  to  treat.  Otherwise,  the  sermon 
would  be  sure  to  take  its  color  from  that  most  sug- 
gestive  preacher.     And    there   are   certain    themes 


74  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

which  he  so  preached  upon  that  no  minister  can  help 
running  into  his  grooves,  as,  for  instance,  Elijah, 
under  the  Juniper  Tree.  Let  us  learn  to  be  hospita- 
ble to  thoughts  from  every  quarter,  and  then  so 
steep  them  with  our  own  individuality  that  our  ser- 
mons will  be  distinctly  our  own,  and  not  simply 
foreign  importations. 

You  should  frequently  —  perhaps  as  often  as 
once  a  week  —  look  through  the  treasures  you  have 
stored  up  in  the  past,  familiarizing  yourself  with 
your  Index  Rerum,  checking  off  what  you  have 
already  used,  and  seeing  if  you  can  find  any  illustra- 
tions to  brighten  up  next  Sunday's  sermons.  In 
this  way,  a  thought  which  you  found  years  ago  will 
exactly  fit  into  the  niche  of  the  present  exigency. 
Each  sermon  becomes,  in  a  true  sense,  the  product, 
not  of  a  few  days'  study,  but  of  wide  reflection  cov- 
ering many  years.  At  a  time  of  languor  and  dull- 
ness, you  will  be  able  to  utilize  the  gleaming  results 
of  better  moods. 

"  We  cannot  kindle  when  we  will 
The  fire  which  in  the  heart  resides; 

The  spirit  bloweth  and  is  still. 
In  mystery  our  soul  abides. 

But  tasks  in  hours  of  insight  willed 

Can  be  through  hours  of  gloom  fulfilled." 

The  question  arises  how  far  visual  instruction  is 
admissible  in  the  pulpit.  We  are  all  children  of  a 
larger  growth,  and  never  tire  of  looking  at  pictures. 
Accordingly,  many  advocate  the  use  of  the  black- 
board, pulpit  paintings,  and  the  stereopticon.  The 
idea  has  a  certain  fascination,  and  one  cannot  help 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  75 

hoping  that  ways  may  be  devised  of  reaching  the 
soul  through  the  eye  without  sacrifice  of  dignity  and 
reverence.  But  one  must  move  cautiously  along 
this  path.  The  danger  is  that  the  mechanical  details 
needful  for  success  in  such  adventures  will  absorb 
the  minister's  time  and  cause  him  to  neglect  his 
study.  In  our  attempt  to  give  it  vivid  expression, 
we  let  the  thought  itself  become  impoverished. 
Besides  the  spirit  of  reverence  is  sensitive  to  environ- 
ment, and  can  hardly  survive  amid  the  uncanny 
shadows  and  sounds  of  the  stereopticon.  But,  if, 
in  spite  of  these  risks,  one  has  sufficient  hardihood 
to  try  such  an  experiment,  let  him  begin  in  the  hall, 
rather  than  in  the  church,  and  let  this  new  form  of 
service  not  displace  the  regular  worship,  but  let  it 
occupy  a  place  of  its  own,  as  an  extra  attraction. 
Otherwise,  you  discredit  your  ordinary  appointment, 
confessing  its  failure  and  making  return  difficult, 
if  not  impossible.  We  have  found  the  stereopticon 
very  effective  at  the  Gospel  Meeting  of  a  week-night, 
illustrating  with  it  the  Life  of  Christ  or  Pilgrim's 
Progress.  In  addressing  children  also,  one  feels  the 
need  of  the  object  lesson  or  the  blackboard 
illustration. 

4.  It  hardly  need  be  said  that  the  sermon  must 
be  intelligible.  The  minister  must  form  the  habit  of 
clear  and  luminous  thought.  Greatness  is  usually 
simple.  Higher  education,  instead  of  disqualifying 
men  for  addressing  masses,  is  just  what  we  need  to 
make  our  thought  plain.  An  ignorant  man  is  sure 
to  muddle  his  meaning.  The  superficial  may  per- 
haps 'mistake  obscurity  for  depth,  and  fancy  that, 


76  THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH. 

because  we  are  simple,  we  are  shallow.  It  is  said 
that  Balzac  used  to  write  with  intentional  abstruse- 
ness,  that  his  puzzled  reader,  not  being  able  to 
fathom  his  meaning,  might  say  to  himself:  "  Great 
man,  Balzac;  he  knows  more  than  I  do."  But 
preach  inteUigibly,  at  the  risk  of  depreciation  at  the 
hands  of  those  who  are  not  intelligent  enough  to 
form  an  independent  opinion,  but  must  suspend 
judgment  and  look  hopelessly  around  until  some 
oracle  speaks.  The  judicious  will  always  be  grate- 
ful for  clear  statements.  The  plays  of  Shakespeare 
were  produced  by  him  not  as  works  of  literature, 
but  to  be  acted  upon  the  stage  before  popular  audi- 
ences. Hence  their  transparency.  We  create  our 
own  difficulties.  We  read  hard  meanings  into  his 
words.  The  most  obvious  interpretation  —  the  one 
that  would  occur  to  a  plain  looker-on,  is  usually  the 
right  one,  and  gives  the  thought  that  Shakespeare 
had  in  his  own  mind.  Profound  and  recondite 
expositions  are  generally  of  our  own  making.  An 
unlearned  man,  to  whom  was  given  a  copy  of 
Shakespeare  with  explanatory  notes,  remarked  that 
he  had  no  difficulty  in  understanding  the  text,  and 
hoped  that  by  hard  study,  he  would  be  able  to  mas- 
ter the  explanations.  One  of  the  canons  in  the 
interpretation  of  the  great  dramatist  is  that  our  first 
glance  is  surest,  as  in  shooting  with  a  rifle. 

It  should  be  so  with  sermons.  The  thought  should 
be  presented  in  crystalline  forms.  It  is  no  sign 
that  a  stream  is  deep,  because  you  cannot  see  to  the 
bottom.  It  may  be  shallow  and  muddy.  Much  of 
the  modern  preaching  needs  to  be  translated  into 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  77 

the  plain  speech  of  everyday  Hfe.  Handwriting,  if 
too  ornate,  becomes  illegible.  We  tire  of  fine 
rhetoric.  We  wish  our  author  would  drop  into 
simple  homely  phrases.  Norman  MacLeod,  while 
visiting  Canada,  once  preached  in  a  little  back- 
woods church,  where  there  was  no  settled  minister. 
When  church  was  over,  an  old  man  who  stammered 
implored  him  to  send  the  church  a  minister:  "  We 
d-d-don't  expect  a  v-v-very  c-c-clever  man,  but 
would  be  quite  pleased  to  have  one  who  could 
g-g-give  us  a  p-p-plain  everyday  s-s-sermon  like 
what  you  g-gave  ns  yourself  to-day."  A  vote  of 
thanks  was  once  given  to  Macaulay  for  having  writ- 
ten a  history  that  workingmen  could  understand. 
Dr.  Archibald  Alexander,  of  Princeton,  used  to 
preach  sometimes  in  a  school-house  where  services 
were  kept  up  by  the  students.  One  Sunday  he 
preached  a  crystalline  sermon  in  which  the  result 
of  years  of  thought  was  presented  in  simplest  form. 
His  hearers  were  delighted.  One  of  the  farmers 
said:  "  I  like  that  old  man.  He  is  not  learned  like 
•those  Seminary  fellows,  but  I  could  understand 
every  word  he  said." 

In  fact,  our  preaching  is  too  much  weighted  with 
theological  terminology.  It  is  as  when  some  old 
sailor  spins  a  yarn,  interlarding  it  with  so  many 
nautical  phrases  that  a  landsman  is  completely 
befogged.  Our  preaching  wants  translating.  A 
preacher  never  loses  his  charm  who  knows  how  to 
elucidate  the  theology  of  the  schools  in  the  language 
of  the  streets. 

5.     Preaching,   to  impress  the  common   people, 


78  •       THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH. 

should  have  a  positive  tone.  The  trumpet  must  give 
no  uncertain  sound.  What  we  say  should  proceed 
from  intense  conviction.  People  do  not  want  our 
theories  or  speculations.  They  look  for  broad 
statements,  and  become  impatient  when  we  pare 
down  our  thought  with  too  nice  distinctions.  The 
main  outlines  are  all  that  they  have  time  for  —  "  the 
Colossus,  hewed  out  of  the  rock,  and  not  the  carved 
cherry-stone."  The  secret  of  a  certain  French  phy- 
sician's power  was  said  to  be  that  he  afhnncd.  "  I 
will  take  any  man's  convictions,"  said  Goethe,  '*  but 
pray  keep  your  doubts  to  yourself;  I  have  enough 
of  my  own." 

Lord  Coleridge  advises  English  clergymen  not 
to  grapple  with  questions  which  they  do  not  under- 
stand. He  says :  **  Sermons  or  speeches  which 
are  not  thorough,  and  in  which  imperfect  argu- 
ment is  eked  out  with  feeling  and  devotion  do, 
more  harm  than  good.  Whereas  a  man  by  leav- 
ing the  whole  matter  alone,  and  insisting  on  the 
spiritual  needs  of  man,  and  the  spiritual  help 
which  the  Christian  Religion  gives  him,  can  at  least 
do  no  harm,  and  with  many  natures  may  do  infinite 
good."  It  is  not  so  much  a  rotund  orthodoxy  that 
counts  as  a  solid  one.  Soundness  consists  not  in 
loosely  holding  a  large  body  of  doctrine,  but  in  a 
hrm  grasp  of  a  few  essential  truths.  Do  not  try  in 
your  preaching  to  swing  around  the  whole  circle  of 
theology,  but  rather  ofifer  those  truths  wdiich  you 
have  yourself  experienced,  leaving  some  doctrines 
to  hang  up  and  dry.  According  to  the  old  supersti- 
tion, "  Bullets  must  be  dipped  in  the  huntsman's 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH.  79 

blood  to  bring  down  the  game."  ''  It  is  my  belief," 
writes  Carlyle,  *'  that  if  the  turbulent  people  could 
once  be  brought  to  know  someone  who  really  be- 
lieved for  himself  the  eternal  truths,  and  did  not 
merely  tell  them  of  someone  else  who  in  old  time 
was  thought  to  have  believed  them,  they  would  all 
be  reduced  to  speedy  silence." 

An  orthodoxy  which  is  external  and  does 
not  saturate  us  to  the  very  bone  is  of  no  use. 
Conan  Doyle  describes  an  old  sailor  ''  who 
was  covered  from  head  to  foot  with  the 
most  marvelous  tattooings,  done  in  blue,  red 
and  green,  beginning  with  the  Creation  upon  his 
neck  and  winding  up  with  the  Ascension  upon  his 
left  ankle.  He  was  wont  to  say  that  had  he  been 
drowned,  and  his  body  been  cast  upon  some  savage 
island,  the  natives  might  learn  the  whole  of  the 
blessed  Gospel  from  a  contemplation  of  his  carcass. 
Yet  this  man's  religion  appeared  to  have  all  worked 
into  his  skin,  so  that  very  little  was  left  for  inner 
use."  Truth  that  goes  into  us  only  skin  deep  simply 
makes  us  repulsive.  People  are  very  quick  to  dis- 
cover whether  we  are  preaching  a  thing  because  we 
believe  it,  or  only  because  it  is  the  thing  to  preach. 
Do  not  preach  a  doctrine  that  you  believe  only  while 
you  are  preaching  it.  A  minister  said  to  me  that 
he  had  to  preach  about  hell  once  in  a  while,  so  as  to 
keep  on  believing  in  it.  George  Eliot  profoundly 
remarked  concerning  Savanorola:  '*  His  faith  wav- 
ered, but  not  his  speech;  it  is  the  lot  of  ever}^  man 
who  has  to  speak  for  the  satisfaction  of  the  crowd, 
that  he  must  often  speak  in  virtue  of  yesterday's 


8o  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

faith,  hoping  it  will  come  back  to-morrow."  It  is 
better  not  to  speak  at  all  than  to  say  what  we  only 
half  believe.  Even  a  commonplace  becomes  a 
formidable  projectile,  when  it  is  heated  red-hot  in 
the  fire  of  our  own  conviction.  Professional  and 
make-believe  theology  is  like  the  filling  which  an 
unskilled  dentist  hammers  into  a  hollow  tooth,  with- 
out having  first  properly  fitted  the  cavity  under- 
neath it.  All  the  time  the  decay  of  doubt  is  eating 
its  way  down  towards  the  throbbing,  remonstrant 
nerve. 

Let  us  try  to  find  out  what  we  truly  believe  and 
preach  that  alone  in  a  positive  and  constructive  way. 
We  may  do  more  harm  than  good  by  attacking 
false  systems  of  thought.  We  advertise  an  error 
by  preaching  against  it.  The  assaults  upon  religion, 
like  all  offensive  warfare,  are  much  more  interesting 
than  its  defense.  People  will  keep  awake  while  you 
are  stating  the  argument  of  some  brilliant  infidel, 
and  fall  asleep  before  you  get  in  your  reply.  In  this 
way  they  take  the  poison  without  the  antidote.  The 
way  to  discount  an  error  is  to  hang  up  alongside  of 
it  the  corresponding  truth.  An  old  verger  at 
Oxford,  where  the  University  sermons  are  almost 
exclusively  of  an  apologetic  character,  once  said: 
*'  I  have  heard  all  the  sermons  here  for  the  last  fifty 
years,  and,  thank  God,  /  hcliczw  in  Christianity  still," 

And  while  we  do  not  attack  false  systems,  let  us 
not  emphasize  our  own  doubts  and  heresies.  At 
some  one  point  you  find  yourself  a  little  in  advance 
of  your  church.  Tliey  will  catch  up  with  you;  do 
not  fear.     You  need  not  devote  all  of  your  time  to 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  8l 

preaching  about  the  pet  truth  which  you  have 
freshly  discovered.  You  will  be  tempted  to  do  so; 
for  if  we  vary  even  a  little  from  the  standards  at  any 
one  point,  we  are  sure  to  incur  criticism  and  attack. 
The  danger  is  that,  in  defending  ourselves,  we  shall 
be  led  to  devote  disproportionate  thought  to  this 
one  phase  of  truth.  And  so  our  preaching  will 
become  unsymmetrical.  The  truth  is  seen  out  of  its 
perspective.  The  one  point  of  disagreement  as- 
sumes undue  importance  in  our  minds,  and  we  pass 
lightly  over  all  the  other  doctrines  in  which  we  are 
at  tDne  with  our  fellow-Christians.  Many  a  man 
has  worked  himself  out  of  the  Communion,  to 
which,  by  good  rights,  he  belonged,  because  uncon- 
sciously he  fell  into  the  habit,  in  his  public  deliver- 
ances, of  harping  all  the  time  upon  some  one  variant 
chord  of  doctrine,  instead  of  giving  due  and  propor- 
tionate emphasis  to  the  many  other  truths,  regard- 
ing which  he  and  his  brethren  were  absolutely  in 
unison.  This  does  not  mean  that  you  should  not 
boldly  state  your  position  of  dissent,  even  at  the  risk 
of  martyrdom ;  but,  having  stated  it,  let  it  alone  until 
you  come  round  to  it  again  in  the  great  cycle  of 
truths  that  make  up  our  common  Christianity.  If 
your  opinion  is  true,  people  will  in  the  end  find  it 
out.  Tlie  church  has  a  habit  of  laying  doctrines 
up  on  the  shelf,  and  then  forgetting  to  take  them 
down  again.  The  roughness  of  the  trunk  of  a  tree 
sometimes  seems  to  be  due  to  the  fact  that  the  trunk 
outgrows  the  bark,  splitting  it  into  seams,  as  a 
growing  boy  bursts  his  jacket.  You  can  see  where 
the  opposite  edges  of  the  bark  correspond  to  each 


82  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

Other,  like  parted  lips.  It  is  not  strange  that  the 
church  with  its  expanding  life  should  burst  the 
integument  of  its  credal  statements,  and  that  our 
theologies  should  require  gradual  remoulding.  But 
if  our  preaching  is  negative  in  its  character,  occupy- 
ing itself  too  exclusively  with  those  phases  of  doc- 
trine which  the  church  is  sloughing  off,  it  soon 
becomes  cynical  and  repellent.  When  Froude 
pubHshed  a  bitter  and  sceptical  volume  entitled, 
*'  The  Nemesis  of  Faith,"  Carlyle  made  the  unfeeling 
remark:  *'  He  should  burn  his  own  smoke  and  not 
trouble  other  peoples'  nostrils  with  it." 

6.  But  however  positive  our  preaching  may  be, 
let  it  always  be  persuasive.  From  the  instant  he 
enters  the  pulpit  let  the  minister  beam  with  good- 
nature. With  every  look  and  gesture,  let  him  con- 
ciliate his  people  and  take  them  into  his  confidence. 
To  do  this,  he  should  be  in  good  physical  trim. 
During  the  week  before,  he  ought  to  have  had  his 
day  of  rest,  or  else  two  half-days.  On  Sunday,  Uke 
a  true  vicar,  he  works  that  others  may  rest.  But 
he,  too,  needs  his  day  of  recreation.  I  remember  a 
hard-worked  assistant  pastor  saying  once  that  he 
was  glad  there  was  only  one  day  of  rest  during  the 
week.  When  we  come  before  our  people,  we  should 
have  a  good  night's  rest  behind  us  and  a  good  break- 
fast within  us.  Bodily  weakness  will  betray  itself 
in  irritability  of  manner;  and  no  one  makes  allow- 
ance for  the  minister. 

And  when  the  duties  of  the  day  are  done, 
there  will  come  an  hour  of  sweetest  relaxa- 
tion.     We    must    be    visible    then    only    to    our 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  S^ 

dearest  and  most  judicious  friends.  Others  will  be 
sure  to  misjudge  us.  The  solemnity  and  tenderness 
of  the  day  will  be  followed  by  moods  of  abnormal 
frivolity.  To  the  unsympathetic  and  the  unwise  our 
gaiety  will  seem  strange  and  the  impression  which 
our  ministrations  have  made  upon  them  will  be 
weakened.  It  does  not  surprise  me  that  after 
Philip  had  preached  the  gospel  to  the  Ethiopian,  he 
was  caught  away  and  found  at  Azotus.  Perhaps  it 
was  because,  his  work  being  done  —  his  sermon 
preached,  his  convert  baptized, —  he  might  have 
spoiled  it  all  by  remaining  longer  in  the  same  place. 
Is  this  why  some  ministers  disappear  from  the  pul- 
pit so  mysteriously,  after  the  sermon?  Do  they 
fear  that  the  personal  touch  may  dispel  the  impres- 
sion made  by  their  discourse?  However  this  may 
be,  let  the  minister  so  care  for  his  body  that  when 
he  enters  the  pulpit  no  physical  weakness  or  dis- 
comfort shall  disturb  the  serenity  of  his  deportment. 

Let  his  movements  be  deliberate.  The  impressive- 
ness  of  any  religious  ceremony  is  marred  by  haste. 
"  What  were  those  books  you  had  with  you  in  the 
pulpit?  "  said  an  actor  once  to  a  minister.  "  Why 
those  were  the  Bible  and  Prayer-book."  **  Oh,  I 
thought,  from  the  way  you  threw  them  about,  they 
were  the  day-book  and  the  ledger;  and  what 
engagement  was  it  you  had  to  meet  at  the  close  of 
the  service?"  "  I  had  no  engagement."  "Why,  I 
inferred  you  had  from  the  way  you  hurried  through 
the  worship." 

Deliberateness  of  movement  is  refreshing  and 
restful    to    an    audience.      A    slight    pause    at    the 


84  THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH. 

beginning  of  each  new  act  of  worship  secures 
the  attention  of  the  people  and  helps  them  to  con- 
centrate their  thoughts.  Especially  before  announc- 
ing the  text,  and  before  the  first  sentence  of  the 
sermon,  a  slight  pause  will  produce  a  hush  in  an 
audience,  and  enable  every  hearer  to  catch  the  open- 
ing words.  If  you  get  a  man's  attention  at  the 
very  beginning,  you  can  keep  it  to  the  end;  but,  if 
he  loses  your  first  sentence,  he  becomes  disheart- 
ened, and  will  not  try  to  follow  you  through.  For 
this  reason  a  bright  illustration  or  striking  thought 
at  the  very  outset  has  a  peculiar  value.  On  the 
strength  of  it,  the  hearer  will  patiently  wade  through 
considerable  dullness,  in  the  hope  of  another.  And 
let  the  first  words  of  the  sermon  be  deliberately 
spoken  so  as  to  be  caught  by  the  dullest  and  most 
distant  ear.  How  few  ministers  can  be  easily  heard 
in  the  back  seats!  The  secret  of  being  understood 
is  not  loudness  of  tone  but  deliberateness  and  dis- 
tinctness of  utterance.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  select 
some  listener  farthest  away,  and  make  a  point  of 
pitching  your  voice  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  sure  and 
lodge  it  in  his  ears. 

Let  the  speaker  stand  firmly  on  his  legs, 
neither  with  a  timid  air  nor  with  the  pose  of  a 
gladiator.  Let  him  be  hke  a  gentleman  in  the 
parlor,  erect,  without  military  stiffness.  Let  the 
weight  of  the  body  rest  mainly  upon  one  foot,  which 
should  be  a  little  behind  the  other.  During  the 
Scripture  reading,  prayer  and  sermon,  learn  to  stand 
without  touching  the  pulpit  or  reading-desk  for 
support.      Stand    before    the    audience    as    on    an 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  85 

empty  stage,  without  shelter  of  any  kind.  It  is  well 
to  take  up  the  Bible  or  hymn-book,  when  you  read, 
so  as  not  to  lounge  over  the  desk,  or  read  into  the 
book.  Look  your  people  in  the  eye,  but  with  a 
kindly  glance  neither  timorous  nor  defiant,  with  a 
smile  of  sympathy  and  good-will.  Some  ministers 
gaze  at  the  floor,  or  at  the  distant  corners  of  the 
room,  or  at  the  space  above  the  heads  of  the  people 
—  anywhere  except  into  the  faces  of  their  listeners. 
The  kindling  eye  and  receptive  face  of  an  auditor 
will  sometimes  be  the  very  making  of  a  sermon. 
You  have  once  in  a  while  a  hearer  so  sympathetic 
and  responsive  that  he  ought  almost  to  receive  a 
salary  as  assistant  pastor;  and  you  lose  all  of  this 
if  your  eye  wanders.  An  old  actor  was  asked  if  he 
ever  felt  nervous  on  the  stage.  He  replied :  "  On 
the  first  night,  invariably;  I  remember  playing  one 
night  at  the  utmost  disadvantage;  wasn't  feeling 
well;  house  was  light,  and  I  did  not  care  much  for 
the  play.  Suddenly  I  caught  the  face  of  a  ten-year- 
old  boy  in  the  audience  who  was  crying.  That 
inspired  me,  for  I  felt  that  I  had  inspired  him.  I 
played  to  that  little  fellow  all  the  rest  of  the 
evening." 

Tlie  sermon  will  be  more  persuasive  if  the  min- 
ister learns  how  to  keep  in  close  sympathetic  rela- 
tion with  his  audience  throughout  the  whole  ser- 
vice. Some  preachers  are  dull  and  listless  until  the 
sermon  begins,  as  if  all  else  were  of  no  account. 
In  singing,  we  ought  to  rise  with  the  people  and 
the  choir,  and  that  too  before  the  organ  has  finished 
the  prelude,  so  that  all  will  be  ready  to  begin  to  sing 


S6  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

together.  And  when  the  congregation  sits  down, 
it  is  well  to  sit  down  with  them,  pausing  a  moment 
before  the  next  act  of  worship,  the  organ  playing 
softly.  In  announcing  the  hymns,  or  responsive 
readings,  give  the  people  ample  time  to  find  the 
place.  Listen  appreciatively  to  the  anthem  which 
the  choir  has  taken  the  pains  to  prepare.  People 
will  listen  more  sympathetically  to  your  sermon,  if 
they  find  that  you  take  an  intelligent  interest  in  the 
part  which  others  contribute  to  the  impressiveness 
of  the  service.  During  the  rest  of  the  worship,  do 
not  betray  by  whispering,  by  a  preoccupied  look  in 
your  eye,  or  by  cold  and  absent-minded  behavior 
that  you  regard  the  sermon  as  the  only  thing  of 
importance  in  the  service.  Do  not  deserve  George 
Eliot's  sneer:  "  Practically,  I  find  that  what  is 
called  being  apostolic  now  is  impatience  of  every- 
thing in  which  the  parson  doesn't  cut  the  principal 
figure." 

Let  us  not  fancy  that  vehemence  is  a  part  of  per- 
suasiveness. Violence  of  manner  rather  awakens 
suspicion  of  our  sincerity.  We  instinctively  cover 
the  weakest  links  in  our  arguments  with  strenuous 
declamation.  When  we  have  our  misgivings, 
we  try  to  reassure  ourselves  and  others  by 
making  a  noise.  A  hollow  note  seems  in- 
deed to  be  rather  taking,  especially  in  a 
great  town.  People  enjoy  being  hood-winked, 
and  never  tire  of  it.  Tliere  is  a  kind  of  scintillating 
quality  that  catches  the  eye,  like  scraps  of  tin  hung 
up  in  a  cherry  tree.  When  a  man's  thought  grows 
thin,  he  is  apt  to  lay  on  the  paint  of  rhetoric  all  the 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  87 

thicker.  Soldiers  on  the  stage,  by  constantly  mov- 
ing in  and  out  make  upon  the  spectators  the  impres- 
sion of  a  large  army,  and  the  poverty  of  our  thought 
seeks  to  disguise  itself  beneath  lurid  rhetoric  and 
strained  declamation.  But  this  is  bad  art.  Its  suc- 
cess will  prove  ephemeral.  According  to  Amiel: 
"  Napoleon  with  his  arms  crossed  over  his  breast 
is  more  impressive  than  the  furious  Hercules  beat- 
ing the  air  with  his  athlete  fists."  Let  us  not  mis- 
take perspiration  for  inspiration. 

Good  temper  is  an  important  ingredient  in  per- 
suasion. Let  the  minister,  of  all  men,  keep  sweet. 
With  him,  irritation  in  public  is  a  sin  past  atoning. 
He  often  has  good  enough  cause  for  losing  his  tem- 
per. But  let  him  be  like  "  a  volcano  covered  with 
snow."  *'  Our  tongues  are  like  triggers  that  have 
usually  been  pulled,  before  general  intentions  have 
been  brought  to  bear."  Some  people  will  stretch 
your  forbearance  to  the  utmost.  They  do  not  hesi- 
tate to  probe  your  most  sensitive  place.  They  are 
like  the  old  western  trapper,  who  being  asked  why 
he  indulged  in  the  practice  of  shooting  Indians 
replied  that  he  liked  to  see  them  jump.  But  "  Love 
is  not  easily  provoked."  Preserve  an  imperturbable 
good  nature.  A  man  never  loses  his  temper  in 
public,  without  being  sorry  for  it  ever  afterwards. 
One  of  our  best  New  York  ministers  was  driven  out 
of  the  city  by  a  woman's  cough.  Her  cough  inter- 
rupted one  of  his  most  eloquent  passages.  He 
betrayed  irritation.  The  papers  got  hold  of  it.  "  It 
is  a  pity  if  a  person  may  not  cough  in  church."  We 
never  retract  a  fault  w^hen  it  once  gets  into  print. 


SS  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

The  world  is  a  whispering  gallery.     The  echo  of 
that  innocent  cough  would  not  die  away. 

In    spite   of   every    safeguard,    disturbances    will 
occur  during  public  worship.     By  a  kind  of  irony  in 
Providence,  something  funny  will  come  up  just  at 
the  most  solemn  moment.     And  worship  is  a  sensi- 
tive plant,  wilting  at  the  slightest  touch  of  alien 
thought.     How   true   to   nature   is   the   episode   in 
Goethe's  great  drama,  where  Faust's  solitary  medi- 
tation on  the  opening  sentences  of  St.  John's  gospel 
is   interrupted   by   the   uneasiness    and    clamorous 
howling  of  the  black  poodle  in  which  Mephistoph- 
eles  is  ensconced!     How  often  is  the  tender  sol- 
emnity of  worship  rudely  dispelled  by  some  incon- 
gruous   incident!      A   baby    cries.      Speak   gently. 
Put  yourself  in  the  place  of  that  over-worn  mother 
who  has  brought  her  infant  to  God's  house  in  quest 
of  a  blessing  for  herself  and  the  babe.     Encourage 
mothers  to  bring  their  little  ones  to   church.     A 
kindly  sympathetic  remark  will  capture  the  hearts 
of  your  audience,  and  they  will  take  up  the  broken 
thread  of  your  discourse  with  new  zest.     Inattentive 
and  restless  boys  and  girls  are  a  fruitful  source  of 
disturbance    in    Divine    worship.      Reprove    them 
affectionately  if  the  occasion  requires.     Better  still, 
see  to  it  that  some  older  person  of  kindness  and 
judgment  sits  near  the  children  to  keep  them  in 
order.     You  are  annoyed,  perhaps,  by  seeing  people 
sound  asleep  during  your  homily.     Don't  begrudge 
them  the  little   respite  from   care  that  God   gives 
them  in  His  house.     Rather  thank  Him  silently  for 
the    fulfillment    of    His    word :      "  He    giveth    His 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH.  89 

beloved  sleep."  Consider  that  sleep  is  the  sweetest 
creature  comfort  given  to  man.  It  is  so  scarce!  In 
a  great  city  there  seems  hardly  enough  of  it  to  go 
around.  To  disturb  sleep  in  one's  family  is  ac- 
counted a  domestic  crime.  It  is  not  out  of  disre- 
spect to  yourself  or  want  of  interest  in  your  sermon 
that  your  listener  nods.  It  is  his  infirmity.  He 
has  been  working  hard  in  the  open  air,  and  finding 
himself  in  a  warm,  quiet  place  cannot  keep  awake. 
Think  how  good  children  are  when  they  are  asleep. 
Remember  the  words  of  the  disciples:  ''Lord,  if 
he  sleep  he  shall  do  well."  Consider,  if  the  offender 
is  a  deacon,  what  a  mute  but  eloquent  witness  his 
sleep  is  to  your  orthodoxy.  His  slumber  is  sound, 
because  your  doctrine  is  sound.  Let  such  'reflec- 
tions as^these  calm  your  irritation,  and  soothe  your 
wounded  pride. 

It  is  difBcult  to  view  with  a  quiet  eye  the  numer- 
ous slight  aberrations  that  mar  the  beauty  and 
smoothness  of  Divine  worship.  But  scolding  will 
do  no  good.  Irony,  that  sure  sign  of  a  troubled 
heart,  only  causes  resentment.  By  it,  we  generate 
just  enough  friction  at  many  different  obscure  points 
to  bring  about  in  the  end  the  defeat  of  our  whole 
undertaking.  Kindness  is  the  most  effective  lubri- 
cant. Instead  of  blaming  a  fault,  praise  its  opposite. 
Do  not  scold  those  who  come  late  to  church,  but 
thank  those  who  come  early.  Speak  of  how  pleased 
you  were  to  observe  that  one  of  your  members  found 
the  place  in  the  hymn-book  for  a  stranger.  Judi- 
cious appreciation  is  a  most  effective  remedy  for  the 
evils  that  infest  everything  good.     A  Parisian  pho- 


9©  THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH. 

tographer  does  not  say  to  a  lady  who  is  sitting  for  a 
picture:  ''  Look  pleasant  now  if  you  please,"  but, 
*'  It  is  quite  unnecessary  to  ask  madame  to  look 
pleasant  —  she  could  not  look  otherwise."  Indeed 
the  persuasiveness  of  the  sermon  will  depend  upon 
the  persuasiveness  of  the  preacher.  His  whole  life 
and  bearing  will  be  conciliatory.  He  will  begin  to 
persuade  from  the  moment  he  enters  the  pulpit. 
All  depends  upon  the  man  himself.  ''  What  you 
are,"  says  Emerson,  "  thunders  so  loud  that  I  cannot 
hear  what  you  say." 

7.  The  sermon  should  not  only  be  expository  and 
extemporaneous  and  illustrative  and  clear  and  positive 
and  persuasive ;  let  it  also  be  brief.  Stop,  just  before 
the  people  have  had  enough.  A  brakeman  said 
about  a  discourse  that  he  had  heard  the  day  before : 
"  It  was  a  good  sermon,  but  it  had  poor  terminal 
facilities."  An  old  judge,  when  asked  how  long  a 
sermon  should  be,  replied :  "  Twenty  minutes,  with 
a  leaning  to  the  side  of  mercy."  People  never  for- 
give a  lengthy  preacher.  They  cherish  a  feeling  of 
personal  injury.  They  never  cease  to  cast  it  up  to 
him.  You  seldom  hear  a  minister  complained  of 
for  being  too  brief.  Very  few  know  when  to  leave 
ofT.  Especially  when  we  are  preaching  poorly,  we 
go  floundering  along  hoping  to  come  to  something 
before  we  are  done.  Little  girls  in  the  sewing- 
school,  when  they  come  to  the  end  of  a  seam,  look 
up  and  say:  ''Stop  me,  teacher."  Happy  the 
people  whose  minister  knows  how  to  fasten  ofif  the 
thread  of  his  discourse  at  the  end  of  the  seam! 
Observe  the  dictum  of  Horace :     *'  Whatever  you 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  9 1 

teach,  let  it  be  brief;  that  docile  spirits  may  swiftly 
receive  your  words  and  faithful  ones  retain  them." 

II.  Having  considered  the  general  character  of 
the  sermon,  let  us  study  the  process  of  its  pro- 
duction. 

I.  And  more  important  than  the  preparation  of 
the  sermon  is  the  preparation  of  one's  self.  A 
sermon  will  grow  itself,  out  of  a  mind  and  heart 
that  are  thoroughy  tilled.  Let  there  be  a  symmet- 
rical development  of  the  whole  man. 

(a.)  The  physieal  nature  should  not  fall  into 
disrepair.  Sleep  well.  Eat  well.  Take  plenty  of 
exercise.  When  the  apostle  wrote:  **  Bodily  exer- 
cise profiteth  little,"  he  referred  to  the  ascetic  prac- 
tices by  which  the  religionists  of  his  day  thought  to 
please  God.  Take  a  little  well  chosen  gymnastic 
exercise  in  the  morning  as  a  part  of  your  toilet. 
Let  the  movements  be  such  as  to  bring  into  sym- 
metrical play  all  the  muscles  of  the  body.  They 
may  be  learned  from  any  gymnastic  director.  This 
exercise  need  not  consume  more  than  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes.  Our  condition  of  undress  is  favorable  for 
such  work.  If  we  let  that  chance  slip  by  and  are 
once  appareled  for  the  day,  we  never  find  time  to 
make  the  change  of  costume  requisite  to  comfort 
and  pleasure  in  gymnastic  exercise.  Besides  this, 
a  half  an  hour,  at  least,  every  day  ought  to  be  spent 
in  playing  out  of  doors.  The  exercise  should  be 
violent  enough  to  open  wide  the  pores  and  produce 
copious  perspiration.  Then  a  bath  and  rub-down 
are  very  refreshing  and  beneficial.  How  d'elightful 
the  glow  we  have'  when  we  conquer  cold  by  means 


92  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

of  hard  physical  exercise !  How  much  more  endur- 
ing the  feehng  of  warmth  secured  in  this  way  than 
if  we  grew  warm  by  toasting  ourselves  before  a  fire ! 
(b.)  Again  the  minister  is  a  social  being.  Part 
of  the  preparation  of  one's  self  for  the  ser- 
mon is  to  keep  in  close  touch  with  one's 
fellows.  Transcending  all  ecclesiastical  parti- 
tions, the  minister  should  associate  with  the 
best  people  of  the  town  in  which  he  lives.  He 
will  make  much  of  home  life,  nor  bring  a  preoccu- 
pied mind  to  his  children.  Even  the  innocent  morn- 
ing newspaper  becomes  a  kind  of  domestic  insulator 
at  the  table.  Our  power  to  win  souls  will  be  meas- 
ured by  our  capacity  to  inspire  confidence  and  affec- 
tion. Our  personal  habits  are  a  large  factor  in  our 
social  make-up.  People  will  not  stop  to  correct 
our  faults  of  manner;  they  will  simply  fight  shy  of 
us.  Practice  economy.  Save  a  little  every  year. 
Keep  out  of  debt.  Preserve  your  independence,  or 
else  you  will  forfeit  the  respect  of  your  fellow-men, 
and  put  it  out  of  your  power  to  do  them  any  good. 
Attention  to  the  minutest  details  of  toilet  is  requi- 
site. Otherwise,  we  become  physically  repulsive  to 
people  of  sensibility  and  good  breeding,  and  lose  all 
influence  over  them.  "  One  sees  why  it  is  often 
better  for  greatness  to  be  dead  and  to  have  got  rid 
of  the  outer  man."  Refined  manners  at  the  table 
and  in  the  parlor,  scrupulous  observance  of  the 
countless  little  conventionalities  of  civilized  life, 
tender  regard  for  the  feelings  of  those  of  low  degree, 
a  nice  sense  of  honor  that  keeps  without  fail  every 
promise    and    engagement,    such    a    deference    for 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  93 

others  that  we  will  not  monopolize  the  conversation, 
or  talk  shop,  or  tell  old  or  pointless  or  irreverent 
stories,  or  speak  unkindly  of  the  absent,  especially 
of  our  brother  ministers,  these  form  a  part  of  that 
culture  without  which  good  sermons  cannot  be  pro- 
duced. Manners  stand  in  close  relation  to  morals, 
and  the  teacher  of  religion  should  be  a  kind  of 
Arthur  Hallam: 

"  And  thus  he  bore  without  abuse 
The  grand  old  name  of  gentleman, 
Defamed  by  every  charlatan, 

And  soiled  with  all  ignoble  use." 

(c.)  Healthy  mental  fibre  is  requisite  to  the  pro- 
duction of  a  sermon.  The  Sunday's  deliverances 
should  be  simply  the  exudation  of  a  richly  nourished 
mind.  The  minister  should  have  culture,  defined 
by  one  of  its  most  illustrious  modern  apostles  as 
"  the  acquainting  ourselves  with  the  best  that  has 
been  known  and  said  in  the  world,  and  thus-  with 
the  history  of  the  human  spirit."  When  we  think 
what  this  involves  we  feel  almost  like  giving  up  in 
despair.  But  we  recall  Christ's  inspiring  words: 
"Are  there  not  twelve  hours  in  a  day?"  All  that 
is  required  of  us  is  to  fill  up  the  time  with  happy, 
useful  toil.  We  are  hired*  by  our  Master  to  work 
not  by  the  piece,  but  by  the  day.  And  when  we 
consult  our  pillow  at  night,  we  should  think  not  of 
what  we  have  achieved,  but  that  every  hour  has  been 
filled  with  service.  This  thought  promotes  sound 
sleep.  Indeed,  how  simple  is  the  minister's  life,  if 
he  is  content  with  the  church  as  his  lever  in  uplifting 
humanity!     Through  his  church  he  can  reach  the 


94  THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH. 

Uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  and  perpetuate  his  influ- 
ence through  all  time.  Let  him  magnify  his  ofifice. 
Let  him  work  his  church  for  all  it  is  worth.  Life 
for  these  two  —  his  church  and  his  home  —  will 
afiford  him  the  amplest  opportunity  for  the  develop- 
ment of  himself  and  for  the  redemption  of  mankind. 
The  pastor  will  usually  occupy  his  forenoons 
in  study,  his  afternoons  in  visiting,  his  even- 
ings in  worship  or  social  and  domestic  recrea- 
tion. The  very  diflBculties  of  his  situation  possess 
fascination,  and  help  him  profitably  to  while  away 
the  time.  If  he  can  pass  two  hours  a  day  in  sermon 
study,  one  hour  in  solid  reading,  one  hour  in  light 
reading,  one  hour  in  literary  work,  one  hour  in  desul- 
tory writing,  two  hours  in  pastoral  visitation,  one 
hour  in  walking  or  gymnastics  or  outdoor  recrea- 
tion, reserving  the  evenings  for  a  religious  service  or 
other  social  pleasure  —  all  this,  exclusive  of  time 
spent  in  private  and  domestic  devotions,  and  reserv- 
ing one  day  a  week  or  else  two  half-days  for  rest  and 
recreation  —  he  can  certainly  lie  down  at  night 
with  the  delicious  sense  of  duty  done.  The  execu- 
tion of  such  a  plan  as  this  is  surely  not  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  average  man.  If  he  shuts  himself  up 
in  his  study  from  half-past  eight  till  one  o'clock,  he 
will  find  himself  a  long  way  on  the  path  of  carrying 
out  this  program.  It  is  said  that  the  Italian  poet, 
Alfieri,  used  to  have  himself  tied  into  his  library 
chair  and  left  for  a  certain  portion  of  time  each  day 
*at  his  library  table,  having  previously  instructed 
his  servants  not  to  release  him  before  the  expiration 
of  his  appointed  hours  of  study.     Lock  yourself  in 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  95 

your  study  certain  hours  every  day,  and  give  your- 
self uninterruptedly  to  reading,  writing  and  thought. 
Do  this  faithfully  year  by  year,  and  your  reservoir 
of  thought  will  keep  full.  You  will  even  be  con- 
scious of  reserve  power.  You  will  experience  that 
fine  plenum  sensation  which  is  so  desirable  in 
ventilation. 

You  need  not  worry  over  the  success  of  your 
undertakings.  All  genuine  social  reform  takes 
time.  Dr.  Chalmers,  who  used  to  preach  with  such 
passionate  earnestness  that  sometimes  white  flecks 
of  foam  would  fly  from  his  Hps,  conceded  in  his  fare- 
well sermon  to  his  people  at  Kilmany  that  he  was 
not  sensible  that  all  the  vehemence  with  which  he 
had  urged  the  virtues  and  proprieties  of  social  life 
had  had  the  weight  of  a  feather  on  the  moral  habits 
of  his  parishioners.  The  slower  the  process  by 
which  your  idea  is  transmuted  into  social  crystalliza- 
tion, the  more  enduring  and  seminal  will  be  the 
result.  Keep  alive  long.  Hold  yourself  in  hand. 
Outlive  your  competitors.  The  two  surest  elements 
of  success  in  any  profession,  especially  in  a  large 
town,  are  longevity  and  good  behavior.  The  great 
ends  of  life  we  reach  not  by  straining  directly 
towards  them,  but  by  coming  at  them,  as  it  were, 
around  a  corner.  If  we  occupy  our  time  usefully 
and  in  such  a  way  as  to  grow  symmetrically  in  all 
our  nature,  noble  achievement  will  come  of  itself; 
just  as  a  tree  does  not  try  to  bear  fruit,  but  having 
more  life  than  it  knows  what  to  do  with,  transmutes 
that  life  into  fruit.     Intensity  of  aim  defeats  itself. 

It  is  surprising  how  many  volumes  one  can  get 


g6  THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH. 

through  by  simply  reading  an  hour  a  day.  Matthew 
Arnold  writes  as  follows  to  his  sister:  The  import- 
ance of  reading,  not  light  stuff  to  get  through  time, 
but  the  best  that  has  been  written,  forces  itself  upon 
me  more  and  more  every  year  I  live;  it  is  living  in 
good  company,  the  best  company,  and  people  gen- 
erally are  quite  keen  enough,  or  too  keen  about 
doing  that,  yet  they  will  not  do  it  in  the  simplest 
and  most  innocent  manner  by  reading."  And  in 
another  letter;  "  If  I  were  you,  my  dear  Fan,  I 
should  now  take  to  some  regular  reading,  if  it  were 
only  an  hour  a  day.  It  is  the  best  thing  in  the  world 
to  have  something  of  this  sort  as  a  point  in  the  day, 
and  far  too  few  people  know  and  use  this  secret. 
You  would  have  your  district  still  and  all  your  busi- 
ness as  usual,  but  you  would  have  this  hour  in  your 
day  in  the  midst  of  it  all,  and  it  would  soon  become 
the  greatest  solace  to  you.  Desultory  reading  is  a 
mere  anodyne;  regular  reading,  well  chosen,  is  re- 
storing and  edifying." 

And  besides  our  reading  we  should  keep  our 
pen  wet.  We  should  spend  an  hour  a  day, 
at  least,  in  writing.  I  mean  literary  work, 
aside  from  desultory  correspondence.  In  this 
way  we  can  address  an  audience  far  larger  than 
could  be  reached  by  the  voice.  Patient  toil,  unmind- 
ful of  results,  is  a  long  and  subtile  lever.  The  best 
work  we  accomplish  we  know  nothing  about;  as  the 
great  humble  bee  flies  from  one  gorgeous  blossom 
to  another,  plunging  his  proboscis  among  the  fra- 
grant petals  in  eager  quest  of  nectar,  and  is  all 
unconscious  betimes  that  he  is  dislodging  and  dis- 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH.  97 

tributinpf  the  pollen  requisite  to  cross-fertilization, 
and  so  promoting  the  production  of  new  flowers, 
and  making  the  wilderness  blossom  like  a  rose- 
garden. 

"  Forenoon  and  afternoon  and  night, —  Forenoon, 
And  afternoon,   and   night, —  Forenoon,   and  —  what  I 
The  empty  song  repeats  itself.     No  more? 
Yea,  that  is  Life;  make  this  forenoon  sublime, 
This  afternoon  a  psalm,  this  night  a  prayer. 
And  Time  is  conquered,  and  thy  crown  is  won." 

(d).  More  important  still  than  the  physical,  social 
and  mental  life  of  the  minister,  is  his  vioral  and 
spiritual  growth.  It  is  a  remarkable  thought  of  the 
poet,  Horace,  that;  a  covetous  man  cannot  make 
poetry.  "  When  once  the  rust  of  avarice  and  the 
love  of  pelf  pervade  the  mind,  can  we  hope  that 
poems  can  be  written  worthy  of  being  smeared  with 
oil  of  cedar  and  kept  in  a  polished  chest  of  cypress- 
wood?  " 

The  Rev.  Arthur  Dimmesdale  "  only  wondered 
that  Heaven  should  see  fit  to  transmit  the  grand  and 
solemn  music  of  its  oracles  through  so  foul  an  organ 
pipe  as  he."  The  minister  may  be,  to  a  degree, 
exempt  from  temptation  to  the  more  robust 
forms  of  vice.  But  refined  sins  are  no  less 
destructive  of  character;  they  eat  out  the  moral 
nature,  leaving  the  mere  shell  of  a  man,  to  be 
crushed  at  the  touch  of  grosser  temptation.  We 
find  temptation  at  the  two  antipodes  of  life.  If  a 
man  fails,  he  loses  heart.  He  becomes  mean-spirited 
and  envious.  Many  a  man  entering  the  ministry  full 
of  promise  has  had  his  wing  broken  in  his  first  pas- 


98  _  THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH. 

torate,  to  live  ever  afterward  a  bleeding  and  flutter- 
ing life.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  he  succeeds,  he 
becomes  vain.  There  is  no  living  with  him.  We 
want  to  nail  up  the  pulpit  door,  and  keep  him  inside. 
He  is  so  charming  there,  and  so  repulsive  every- 
where else.  The  thick  incense  of  praise  makes  him 
dizzy.  The  manly  and  self-respecting,  let  him  alone. 
His  path  is  beset  by  flatterers.  Weak  natures,  *'  silly 
women,"  Kingsley  calls  them,  "  blown  about  by 
every  wind,  falling  in  love  with  the  preacher  instead 
of  the  sermon,  and  his  sermon  instead  of  the  Bible." 
Let  no  minister  fancy  that  he  occupies  a  position 
sheltered  from  the  temptations  that  are  common  to 
man.  He,  too,  has  to  learn  for  himself  to  live  the 
life  that  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God. 

What  we  all  need  is  the  personal,  habitual  con- 
sciousness of  the  loving  presence  of  the  Great 
Companion.  The  Infinite  God,  revealed  in  Christ, 
has  come  within  the  reach  of  our  thought  and 
affection.  Prayer  becomes  sweet  and  real,  when 
we  speak  to  God  in  Christ  as  to  a  friend. 
And  the  return  voice  in  this  tender  and  sublime 
dialogue  is  His  Word  contained  in  the  Holy 
Scripture.  Only  in  this  way  does  Christ  speak  to  us, 
not  face  to  face,  as  He  will  by  and  by,  but  through 
a  letter,  as  a  father  speaks  to  his  child  when  at 
school.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  Christ  Himself  spiritually 
present  to  us,  reinforcing  in  us  all  that  is  good,  and 
making  plain  to  our  dim  eyes  the  teachings  of  His 
Word.  We  need  to  dwell  in  the  consciousness  of 
His  presence  and  His  love;  and  cultivate  acquaint- 
ance with  Him  through  prayer  and  the  reading  of 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  99 

His  word.  Religion  consists  more  in  this  personal 
communion  with  Him  than  in  soundness  of  doctrine, 
aestheticism  of  worship,  knowledge  of  the  Bible, 
labors  of  philanthropy,  moral  endeavors,  or  anything 
else.  The  consciousness  of  Christ's  presence  which 
leads  us  to  speak  to  Him  in  prayer,  to  listen  to  His 
word,  is  the  root  of  all  theology  and  ritual,  pure 
behavior,  and  merciful  deeds.  In  the  little  chapel  at 
Brighton  where  Frederick  W.  Robertson  preached, 
may  be  seen  his  memorial  —  a  representation  of 
Christ  in  the  midst  of  the  doctors.  The  inscription 
reads  as  follows:  They  zvere  ihinking  of  theology; 
he  was  thinking  of  God.  This  consciousness  of  God 
requires  cultivation.  ''  Friendship  is  an  article,"  says 
Dr.  Johnson,  "  that  needs  to  be  kept  in  constant* 
repair."  The  mind  is  so  pressed  with  things  of  sense 
as  easily  to  forget  God.  We  should  be  much  alone 
with  Him  in  prayer,  communing  with  Him  as  friend 
with  friend.  And  all  our  prayer  will  be  pervaded 
by  a  spirit  of  intercession;  as  Aaron  was  commanded 
to  bear  the  name  of  the  Children  of  Israel  in  the 
breast-plate  of  judgment  upon  his  heart  when  he 
went  into  the  Holy  Place,  for  a  memorial  before  the 
Lord  continually.   • 

The  Bible,  too,  will  be  our  constant  companion 
during  these  times  of  devotion.  My  own  plan  is  to 
read  the  Old  Testament  through  once  a  year,  and 
the  New  Testament  twice.  The  writings  of  the 
ancient  ]Mystics,  like  Thomas  a  Kempis,  and  some 
of  the  devotional  literature  of  our  own  day  will 
be  found  helpful  to  meditation.  Read  the  Bible 
for    your    own    good,    and    not    merely    for    the 


lOO  THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

benefit  of  your  people.  Let  not  the  homi- 
letical  habit  tyrannize  over  your  devotional 
moods,  making  your  own  personal  experience  of 
divine  things  narrow  and  mechanical.  In  the  con- 
stant effort  to  provide  food  for  others,  do  not  lose 
your  own  appetite;  like  some  anxious  housewife, 
who,  bending  over  the  hot  stove  in  preparation  of  a 
dainty  repast  for  others,  loses  her  own  desire  for 
food,  and  leaves  untouched  the  viands  which  her 
pains  have  made  so  pleasant  to  the  taste  of  her  guests. 
Let  us  ourselves  share  in  the  feast  of  good  things 
which  we  spread  for  others.  "  Let  us  comfort  them 
by  the  comfort  wherewith  we  ourselves  are  com- 
forted of  God."  Let  them  which  wait  at  the  altar 
"be  partakers  with  the  altar. 

Personal  communion  with  Christ,  described  by 
Himself  under  the  figure  of  the  branch  abiding  in 
the  vine,  is  the  secret  of  Christian  character,  which  is 
more  eloquent  than  any  sermon.  From  this  root 
come  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit.  Persistence,  tranquil- 
ity, humbleness  of  mind,  the  self-effacement  requisite 
to  co-operation  for  noble  ends,  the  capacity  to  love 
others  with  the  love  with  which  God  loves  us,  in  fine, 
all  the  graces  that  qualify  us  for  Christian  service, 
proceed  from  this  source.  We  shall  save  others  by 
first  saving  ourselves.  Nor  is  this  symmetrical  self- 
development  in  body  and  mind  and  heart  and  soul 
opposed  to  the  sublimest  altruism,  provided  our  ulti- 
mate aim  is  the  good  of  others.  When  we  give  our- 
selves to  humanity,  there  ought  to  be  something  to 
give.  The  mother  robin  must  keep  herself  well-fed 
in  order  to  have  strength  for  the  arduous  task  of 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH.  lOI 

gathering-  nourishment  for  her  hungry,  clamoring 
brood.  The  end  determines  the  character  of  the 
hfe.  We  should  not  hesitate  to  risk  life  itself  at 
the  call  of  duty.  But  the  good  soldier  will  not 
expose  himself  unnecessarily.  By  living  ourselves 
in  the  slums,  unless  necessity  requires,  we  may  so 
enfeeble  our  health  and  starve  our  natures  that  we 
shall  be  of  very  little  use  to  the  slums.  The  well- 
being  of  life  consists  in  the  amplest  and  most  sym- 
metrical self-development,  with  an  altruistic  aim. 

2.  Only  a  few  words  will  be  needed  regarding  the 
preparation  of  the  sermon.  If  the  minister's  own 
nature  be  thoroughly  tilled  in  all  its  phases,  phy- 
sical, social,  mental  and  spiritual,  then  the  sermon 
will  grow  up  of  itself.  Select  both  texts  early  in 
the  week,  by  Tuesday  morning,  if  possible.  Having 
once  gripped  a  text,  do  not  let  go  of  it  to  look  for 
something  else.  Make  up  your  mind  that  all  Scrip- 
ture is  vital,  and  that  the  passage  chosen  has  in  it 
a  lesson  for  your  people,  if  you  only  have  the 
patience  to  work  it  out.  Dwell  not  in  the  twi- 
light of  indecision.  Early  in  the  week,  settle  down 
to  the  patient  and  leisurely  study  of  the  Scripture 
you  propose  to  unfold  on  Sunday,  nor  leave  it  unde- 
cided till  the  last  minute  what  you  are  going  to 
preach  about,  and  then,  in  feverish  haste,  like  a  stu- 
dent cramming  for  examination,  crowd  your  work 
into  Saturday  night,  a  time  when  you  ought  to  be 
quietly  resting  in  the  thought  of  your  sermon  being 
so  far  along  that  you  can  safely  let  it  alone,  to  return 
to  it  with  fresh  zest  on  Sunday  morning. 

Having  chosen  a  text,  take  up  with  it  a  liberal  sod 


T02  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

SO  far  along  that  you  can  safely  let  it  alone,  to  return 
to  it  with  fresh  zest  on  Sunday  morning. 

Having  chosen  a  text,  take  up  with  it  a  liberal  sod 
of  context.  Make  the  whole  passage  in  which  your 
text  is  embedded  the  subject  of  your  meditation. 
During  the  time  set  apart  each  day  for  direct  sermon 
study,  read  your  passage  over  carefully  in  the 
Authorized  Version,  in  the  original  languages,  if  you 
can,  and  in  the  Revised  Version,  or  other  transla- 
tions, all  the  time  jotting  down  the  thoughts 
that  occur  to  you,  and  saturating  your  mind 
with  the  truths  suggested  by  the  text.  Read 
commentaries  on  the  passage.  Begin  with 
the  more  critical  ones,  like  Meyer  or  Ellicott, 
that  endeavor  to  arrive  at  the  very  ground 
meaning  of  scripture,  so  that  your  sermon  will  not 
grow  out  of  a  false  exegesis.  Then  make  use  of 
commentaries  which  are  more  spiritually  suggestive. 
Do  not  blindly  follow  even  the  most  scholarly  au- 
thorities. Think  for  yourself.  Form  an  independent 
opinion  on  each  point.  Commentaries  are  of  use, 
not  so  much  for  what  they  say,  as  for  what  they 
suggest.  Keep  ample  notes  during  the  week  of  the 
results  of  your  study  and  meditation.  Consult  your 
pillow  about  the  text.  The  last  thought  at  night,  or 
first  one  in  the  morning  will  sometimes  have  peculiar 
freshness  and  value.  Study  in  a  prayerful  mood. 
Tlie  Holy  Spirit  is  the  best  interpreter  of  Christ's 
thoughts.  Consult  books  that  will  give  you  the  his- 
toric setting  of  the  Scripture  which  you  have  chosen. 
Lastly,  go  through  your  Index  Rerum,  or  common- 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  103 

place  book,  to  see  if  you  have  any  thoughts  there 
that  will  throw  light  on  your  theme. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  week,  you  will 
find  yourself  in  the  possession  of  a  mass  of 
notes  —  thoughts  that  have  occurred  to  you 
during  your  meditation.  Brood  over  this  stuff. 
Select,  from  it  what  will  be  helpful  to  your 
people.  Keep  them  in  mind  all  the  way 
through  —  their  needs  and  sorrows  and  sufferings. 
Leave  out  a  good  deal  that  you  have  gathered. 
Arrange  the  rest  in  the  simplest  possible  order. 
String  your  thoughts  like  beads  on  a  thread.  Keep 
copious  notes  for  future  use  —  the  sermon  out-line, 
the  illustrations,  scripture  references.  At  the  end  of 
your  study  you  will  have  a  sermon  —  not  always  a 
very  great  one,  but  perhaps  all  the  better  for  that. 
It  will  be  a  message  from  God,  suited  to  the  needs 
of  those  you  know  and  love.  Even  a  small  cake  if 
fresh  from  the  griddle  is  always  acceptable.  You  will 
at  least  have  done  your  part.  Leave  the  final  effect 
with  Him  who  says :  "  My  word  shall  not  return 
unto  Me  void."  The  important  point  is  not  so  much 
to  win  admiration  and  applause  as  to  comfort 
Qirist's  little  ones,  and  to  reproduce  the  old  experi- 
ence :  "  Then  were  the  disciples  glad,  when  they 
saw  the  Lord." 

"  If  I  can  stop  one  heart  from  breaking, 

I  shall  not  live  in  vain; 
If  I  can  ease  one  life  the  aching, 
Or  cool  one  pain,  or  help  one  fainting  robin 
Unto  her  nest  again, 

I  shall  not  live  in  vain." 


104  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

Worship  —  The    Sunday    A  ftcrnoon    and    Evening 
Services. 

I.  The    Stmday    Afternoon    Service  —  the    Sunday 
School 

I.  Definition.  The  Church  meets  on  Sunday  after- 
noon for  the  study  of  the  Bible,  children  preponder- 
ating (in  other  words  the  Sunday  school).  The  Sun- 
day school  may  be  defined  as  the  church  and  congre- 
gation, especially  children,  meeting  on  Sunday  for 
the  study  of  the  Scriptures,  This  form  of  worship 
should  be  placed  on  the  high  level  of  the  Sunday 
morning  and  evening  services.  Let  us  not  think  of 
the  Sunday  school  as  a  little  church  within  the 
church  —  a  toy  engine  running  up  and  down  on  a 
side  track  of  its  own.  It  is  the  church  itself,  with  its 
gearing  adapted  especially  to  work  among  children. 
In  fact,  the  ordinary  Sunday  school  is  more  closely 
modelled  upon  the  meetings  of  the  primitive  Chris- 
tians than  is  the  gathering  of  saints  for  the  Sunday 
morning  preaching  service.  In  those  ancient  apos- 
tolic assemblies  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  they 
did  not  pay  one  man  to  interest  and  teach  the  rest. 
The  more  intelligent  and  spiritual  taught  the  rest 
without  pay,  as  is  now  done  in  the  Sunday  school. 
Only  in  this  way  can  I  account  for  its  marvelous 
vitality.    In  many  of  the  weakly  churches,  whatever 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  I05 

spiritual  life  they  have  goes  mainly  into  the  Sunday 
school.  The  vital  juice  of  the  church  will  be  found 
there  if  anywhere.  The  church  itself  is  often  only  a 
kind  of  atrophied  attachment  to  a  vigorous  Sunday 
school.  When  the  pastor  leaves,  the  church  declines; 
but  the  Sunday  school  goes  on  the  same  as  before. 
It  has  an  independent  life  which  survives  and  even 
flourishes  during  a  long  pastoral  interregnum.  Is 
this  because  it  conforms  more  perfectly  to  the 
apostolic  conception  of  a  church  than  the 
church  itself  does?  How  often  in  our  own 
city  do  we  see  the  strange  spectacle  of  a 
large  vigorous  Sunday  school  attached  to  a 
declining,  dying  church  —  a  healthy  growing  child, 
lying  on  the  withered  bosom  of  its  aged  grand- 
mother. May  it  not  be  because  the  Sunday  school 
has  come  to  be  truer  to  the  primitive  ideas  of  Chris- 
tianity than  the  church?  In  fact,  there  is  no  spiritual 
justification  at  all  for  the  Sunday  school  except  as  it 
is  the  church  itself  at  study. 

The  pastor  or  the  associate  pastor  in  his  place, 
should  conduct  the  service  in  the  Sunday  school,  the 
Superintendent  being  simply  his  Lieutenant  or 
Orderly  Sergeant,  relieving  him  of  the  care  of  execu- 
tive details.  The  two  offices  cannot  clash.  The 
Superintendent  takes  charge  of  the  details  of  organ- 
ization; the  pastor  performs  the  function  of  teach- 
ing through  the  teachers.  On  Sunday  morning  the 
pastor  opens  a  passage  of  scripture  to  the  people 
en  masse;  on  Sunday  afternoon  he  instructs  the  peo- 
ple in  classes,  by  means  of  teachers  he  has  met  before- 
hand and  taught  not  only  the  lesson,  but  how  to 


I06  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

teach  it.  While  in  this  form  of  instruction  children 
naturally  preponderate,  all  ages  should  be  embraced, 
from  the  infant  to  those  of  declining  years.  It  is  a 
misfortune  that  the  Sunday  school  should  be  so  gen- 
erally regarded  as  the  children's  church,  so  that  boys 
and  girls  disappear  from  it  upon  leaving  the  public 
school. 

The  teachers  should  be  nominated  by  the  pastor 
and  elected  by  the  church,  or  an  advisory  board, 
representing  the  church.  The  offerings  should  go 
into  the  church  treasury;  and  out  of  the  church 
treasury  the  expenses  of  the  Sunday  school  should 
be  paid.  When  the  church  makes  an  offering  for 
foreign  missions  or  any  other  cause,  the  Sunday 
school  should  add  its  offering  for  the  same  cause  to 
that  of  the  church.  Wlien  the  envelopes  are  dis- 
tributed in  the  church  for  current  expenses  or  for 
missionary  purposes,  they  should  be  distributed  also 
in  the  Sunday  school.  The  worshipper  should  have 
his  option  of  putting  his  envelope  in  the  collection 
plate,  either  at  the  preaching  service  or  in  the  Sun- 
day school.  Tlie  same  even  pressure  of  musical  in- 
struction should  be  felt  throughout  the  school  and 
church,  from  the  smallest  child  to  the  oldest  saint. 
In  every  possible  way  the  Sunday  school  should  be 
identified  with  the  church  —  the  two  coalescing  in 
one  organic  body  through  which  flows  a  common 
life-blood. 

This  conception  affords  the  opportunity  for  an 
effective  pastoral  system.  Let  the  pastor  regard  his 
Sunday  school  teachers  as  assistant  pastors.  Let  him 
commit  to  their  care  the  families  represented  in  their 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  107 

classes.  Let  the  teachers  call  upon  these  families 
regularly,  and  report  their  condition  to  the  pastor. 
He  will  then  find  his  whole  church  and  congregation 
divided  into  convenient  groups  of  families,  and  the 
space  between  the  calls  that  he  makes  will  be  bridged 
over  by  the  calls  of  the  teachers.  Strangers  will  be 
visited,  because  families  are  in  the  habit  of  throwing 
their  children  out  as  feelers.  The  sick  will  not  be 
overlooked.  The  whole  church  will  become  a  com- 
pact social  organism. 

2.  Method.  The  Sunday  school  session  falls 
naturally  into  three  parts  —  the  opening  exercises , 
the  lesson  study,  and  the  closing  exercises.  The  pastor 
should  open  the  school,  assisted  by  the  Superintend- 
ent, who  sits  by  his  side.  Sing  only  good  tunes.  A 
choir  may  be  extemporized,  singers  being  asked  to 
sit  near  the  piano. 

Let  the  opening  exercises  be  brief  and  crisp. 
When  the  lesson  begins,  the  pastor  drops  the  bur- 
den of  responsibility  on  the  Superintendent.  He 
himself  should  not  teach.  He  is  supposed  to  have 
taught  the  teachers.  If  he  burns  his  match  in  the 
afternoon,  it  will  not  light  again  in  the  evening.  The 
Superintendent  sees  that  each  class  has  a  teacher 
and  each  teacher  a  class.  This  will  require  much 
still-hunt  beforehand.  Substitutes  may  be  drafted 
from  the  Bible  classes,  which  should  keep  one 
week  ahead  of  the  rest  of  the  school.  Teachers  can- 
not be  secured  by  agonizing  appeals  from  the  pulpit. 
There  must  be  a  wise  and  discriminating  selection  of 
teachers.  Often  the  best  ones  are  those  who  shrink 
from  the  task  and  will  never  offer  themselves  on  the 


Io8  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

Strength  of  a  general  appeal.  Only  through  personal 
persuasion  will  they  be  brought  to  undertake  the 
work.  If  you  depend  upon  volunteers  alone,  you  will 
have  teachers  with  more  zeal  than  knowledge.  It  is 
not  easy  to  get  rid  of  a  poor  teacher.  An  ill-taught 
class  becomes  a  hot-bed  tO'  sprout  young  infidels  in. 

The  closing  exercises  may  be  conducted  by  the 
pastor  or  Superintendent.  Let  the  pastor  address 
the  whole  school,  giving,  in  a  sermojicttc  of  five 
minutes,  a  single  thought  from  the  lesson,  appeal- 
ing to  the  eye  with  the  black-board  or  some 
carefully  chosen  object  lesson.  While  preparing 
himself  to  teach  the  teachers,  and  for  his  brief  address 
at  the  close  of  the  school,  the  pastor  keeps  himself 
in  sympathetic  relation  with  the  vast  army  of  Sunday 
school  workers,  and  beside,  he  will  often  obtain  a 
good  subject  for  his  Sunday  evening  sermon.  Even 
if  the  pastor  feels  disposed  to  commit  to  others  some 
of  the  definite  tasks  outlined  above  as  his  share  of 
the  Sunday  school  work,  at  least  the  whole  school 
should  be  pervaded  with  his  spirit  and  personality. 

The  closing  minutes  of  the  Sunday  school  are 
peculiarly  favorable  to  evangelistic  appeals,  and 
often,  by  gentle  and  sensible  methods,  we  can  per- 
suade children  directly  to  accept  Christ  as  their 
Savior,  and  to  confess  Him  before  men.  We  are  too 
apt  to  think  that  the  Sunday  school  is  simply  a  place 
of  instruction,  where  the  child  stores  away  truth  for 
future  use.  And  it  is  true  that  many  seeds  are  sown 
which  seem  to  be  lost,  but,  hidden  in  the  soil  of  a 
child's  mind,  will  germinate  in  later  years.  One  of 
Plato's  friends  humorously  compared  his  teachings 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH.  109 

to  words  that  were  frozen  in  the  air,  as  soon  as  they 
were  pronounced,  and  the  next  summer,  when  they 
were  warmed  and  melted  in  the  sun,  the  people  heard 
what  had  been  spoken  in  the  winter.  The  Sunday 
school  teacher  by  hard  boring  may  deposit  in  the 
flinty  heart  a  dynamite  cartridge  which  years  after- 
ward the  electric  spark  of  some  evangelist's  sermon 
will  explode.  But,  while  this  is  true,  we  should  not 
let  slip  the  present  opportunity  of  bringing  little 
children  to  Jesus.  It  is  sometimes  said  that  even  a 
child  can  be  converted;  it  should  be  said  that  even  a 
grown  person  can  be.  The  nearer  the  cradle,  as  a 
rule,  the  nearer  Christ.  The  most  intelligent  Chris- 
tians are  readiest  to  accept  children.  It  takes  only  a 
slight  obstacle  to  upset  an  infant  who  is  learning  to 
walk;  it  is  easy,  by  the  frosty  breath  of  suspicion,  to 
arrest  the  spiritual  growth  of  a  child. 

Becoming  a  Christian  is  like  crossing  a  river.  The 
Jordan  is  indeed  often  used  as  an  emblem  of  death, 
Heaven  being  the  promised  land.  But  the  Jordan 
may  be  justly  used,  also  as  a  type  of  conversion. 
Becoming  a  Christian,  is  crossing  from  bank  to 
bank;  passing  from  the  worldly  country  to  Imman- 
uel's  land.  Now,  if  we  follow  a  river  up  beyond  its 
affluents,  we  find  it  keeps  getting  smaller,  and  at 
last  it  is  only  a  silver  thread,  winding  through  the 
meadow.  You  have  to  part  the  grasses  to  find  it. 
Like  Jean  Ingelow's  streamlet, 

"  A  tiny  bright  beck  it  trickles  between." 

Only  a  step  will  take  you  across,  and  you  may  even 
pass  from  bank  to  bank  without  knowing  it. 


no  THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH. 

Child  conversion  is  like  that.  The  change  of  posi- 
tion is  imperceptible,  but  there  is  a  world-wide  dif- 
ference in  the  ultimate  result.  Now,  suppose  a  per- 
son does  not  cross  the  river  near  its  source,  where  it 
is  so  slender  that  the  grasses  interlace  above 
it, —  in  other  words,  is  not  converted  in  childhood, — 
but  travels  along  down  the  stream  on  the  wrong 
bank,  pursuing  the  natural  course  of  the  worldly  life. 
By  and  by  the  river  becomes  wide  and  deep  and 
arrowy.  He  says  at  last  to  himself,  ''  I  must  cross 
the  river."  He  plunges  in.  The  current  twists  him, 
and  bears  him  down.  He  struggles  on.  He  buflfets 
the  waves.  At  last  he  gains  the  opposite  shore. 
Drenched  and  panting,  but  full  of  joy,  he  clambers  up 
the  bank.  There  he  meets  a  person  who  crossed  the 
river  when  it  was  a  tiny  stream,  and  has  been  long 
traveling  down  the  right  bank,  in  Immanuel's  land. 
Tliese  two  people  are  sure  to  misunderstand  each 
other.  The  one  who  has  forded  the  stream  lower 
down,  will  have  a  long  and  stirring  experience  to 
relate  of  the  anguish  he  endured  while  wrestling  with 
the  flood,  of  the  joy  which  he  felt  upon  arriving  at 
the  bank,  and  which  he  can  scarcely  find  words  to 
express.  The  other,  who  crossed  the  stream  near 
its  source,  will  reply:  ''  I  never  experienced  any- 
thing of  that  kind.  In  fact,  I  hardly  know  the 
exact  time  when  I  crossed  the  stream."  Then  the 
other  may  say,  ''  Then  you  never  have  crossed  the 
stream  at  all."  *'  But,"  the  answer  will  come,  "  I 
seem  to  be  on  the  same  bank  you  arc  on.  I  am 
conscious  of  forgiveness.  I  am  living  the  Christian 
life.     I  love  the  people  of  God,     His  word  is  sweet 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  Ill 

to  my  taste."  *'  Well,"  the  other  will  say,  '*  that 
makes  no  difference.  Unless  you  have  passed 
through  an  experience  similar  to  mine,  you  are  not 
a  Christian." 

What  a  mistake  this  is!  Tlie  fact  is,  that  many 
of  the  best  Christians  in  our  churches  crossed  the 
stream  in  early  childhood,  and  so  cannot  tell  you 
the  exact  date  of  their  conversion.  Happy  the 
church  in  which  children  are  growing-  up,  whose 
second  birth  follows  close  on  the  first!  Blest  the 
garden  in  which  these  tender  plants  are  springing 
up  like  willows  by  the  water-courses. 

3.  Advantages.  Work  among  children  possesses 
peculiar  fascination  and  hope.  They  are  impressi- 
ble to  the  moulding  touch  of  Christian  influence. 
They  are  like  the  tender  grass  springing  out  of  the 
earth  by  clear  shining  after  rain, —  the  newly  unfold- 
ing leaf,  not  yet  turned  brown  with  the  heat  and 
dust  of  summer.  It  has  been  truly  said  that  you 
cannot  have  the  pearly  dawn  at  noon-day. 

"  Childhood  is  the  bough,   where  slumbered 

Birds  and  blossoms  many-numbered; 

Age,  that  bough  with  snows  encumbered." 

Even  a  puny  personality  makes  a  deep  dent  on 
a  child's  mind.  The  scholar  idealizes  his  teacher. 
I  remember  one  of  my  own  Sunday-school  teachers 
whom  in  later  years  I  found  to  be  a  very  ordinary 
man,  and  I  am  surprised  now  to  think  how  portent- 
ous he  seemed  to  me  in  my  childhood.  Here  is  the 
true  conservation  of  energy.     A  little  effort  pro- 


112  THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH. 

duces  so  vast  a  result.  I  have  worked  much  among 
broken-down  men.  How  much  of  this  work  might 
have  been  saved,  if,  years  before,  someone  had  bent 
tenderly  over  their  childhood!  When  a  horse  is 
beginning  to  run  away  is  the  time  to  stop  him  with 
least  expenditure  of  force.  Preventive  work,  how- 
ever obscure  and  prosaic,  is  the  most  fruitful. 

The  Sunday-school  enables  us  to  deploy  our 
workers.  We  are  too  much  huddled  in  our 
churches;  we  get  in  each  other's  way.  If  you  hold 
each  teacher  responsible  for  the  spiritual  care  of 
even  a  small  group  of  children,  he  feels  the  pinch 
of  individual  obligation.  And  besides,  children  lead 
the  way  to  the  hearts  of  their  parents.  They  bear 
the  truth  from  the  church  to  the  home.  The  Gospel 
will  find  entrance  to  a  whole  family  through  a  little 
child.  How  much  influence  for  good,  or  for  harm, 
is  involved  in  these  young  natures!  A  Frenchman 
on  his  way  to  the  guillotine  uttered  this  memorable 
sentence:  ''  Even  at  this  incomprehensible  moment 
when  morality,  enlightenment,  love  of  country  — 
all  of  them  only  make  death  in  prison  or  on  the 
scafifold  more  certain  —  yes,  on  the  fatal  tumbril 
itself,  with  nothing  free  but  my  voice,  I  could  still 
cry  '  Tahc  care'  to  a  child  that  should  come  too  near 
the  wheel!  perhaps  I  may  save  his  life,  perhaps  he 
may  one  day  save  his  country." 

The  Sunday  school  is  the  church  with  its  face 
turned  tov.ard  childhood.  It  is  not  the  children's 
church.  Happy  the  minister  to  whom  children 
instinctively  resort  for  sympathy,  as  a  bird  finds  her 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH.  II3 

rest  among  the  branches  of  some  large  tree;  like 
Tennyson's  ideal  man: 

"  And  manhood  fused  with  female  grace 
In  such  a  sort,  the  child  would  twine 
A  trustful  hand,  unasked,  in  thine. 
And  find  his  comfort  in  thy  face." 

II.  The  Sunday  Evening  Service.  On  Sunday  even- 
ing the  church  meets  for  evangelistic  work. 
I.  General  character,  (a.)  The  Sunday  evening 
service  should  be  radically  different  from  the  Sunday 
morning  service,  not  a  faint  reproduction  of  it  —  a 
sort  of  etiolated  second  rainbow.  Tlie  audience 
should  not  be  made  up  of  the  same  individuals.  We 
should  try  to  reach  an  entirely  different  personnel. 
In  our  great  towns  there  is  a  large  class  of  people 
whose  first  venture  churchward  is  made  on  Sunday 
night,  and  only  when  they  have  been  more  thor- 
oughly civilized  and  Christianized  do  they  become 
Sunday  morning  worshippers.  I  do  not  feel  that  I 
have  a  mortgage  upon  my  own  members  for  three 
services  a  day.  I  do  not  care  to  preach  two  ser- 
mons on  Sunday  to  the  same  man.  One  sermon  is 
apt  to  push  the  other  out.  I  am  not  surprised  at 
the  experience  of  the  theological  student  who  said 
upon  his  return  from  a  Sunday  appointment,  that 
"  The  people  were  so  carried  azvay  by  the  morning 
sermon  that  they  did  not  get  back  to  the  evening 
one."  If  my  people  come,  say  to  one  preaching 
service  and  the  Sunday  school,  I  am  quite  content 
that  they  should  spend  the  other  third  of  the  day 
either  at  home  or  listening  to  some  other  preacher 
than  myself,  or  engaging  in  some  other  form  of 


114  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH^ 

Christian  work  than  ours.  There  are  those  of  us 
who  will  always  remember  with  fervent  pleasure  the 
happy,  restful  Sunday  hour  spent  at  home.  The 
fragrance  of  it  has  attended  our  steps  through  this 
cold  world  and  reassured  us,  amid  the  sneers  of 
skeptics,  of  the  divineness  of  Christianity.  Some 
will  attend  the  Sunday  morning  service  and  the  Sun- 
day school.  Others,  with  more  taste  for  evangel- 
istic work  than  for  Bible  study,  will  skip  the  Sun- 
day school  and,  after  coming  Sunday  morning,  will 
reappear  Sunday  night.  Others  again  will  attend 
attend  the  Sunday  school  and  the  evening  service. 
And  there  are  those  who  will  be  on  hand  whenever 
the  church  door  is  open.  There  is  in  New  York  a 
large  class  of  homeless  people  who  will  make  the 
church  their  home,  and  who  are  never  so  happy  as 
when  gathered  for  worship,  lingering  in  the  place  ot 
prayer  and  fellowship  until  the  lights  are  turned 
down,  and  then  going  only  reluctantly  away.  Ser- 
vants can  come,  perhaps,  more  conveniently  to  the 
Sunday  school  and  to  the  Sunday  evening  service. 
By  having  three  services  on  Sunday  radically  differ- 
ent from  each  other,  you  meet  the  varied  wants  of  a 
heterogeneous  community. 

The  danger  is  that  if  the  attendance  is  small  at 
our  third  service,  we  will  try  to  whip  the  people  to 
church  for  that  occasion,  when  they  have  already 
come  twice,  instead  of  feeling  put  to  our  trumps, 
somehow  to  develop  a  new  constituency  out  of  the 
population  around  us.  It  is  better  to  give  up  the 
third  service  entirely  than  to  fall  into  a  querulous  or 
scolding  habit.     In  fact,  the  church  may  not  have 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  II5 

around  it  the  requisite  material  with  which  to  build 
an  audience  for  the  third  service,  or  else  it  may  not 
have  sufficient  vitality  to  work  up  the  material 
within  its  reach,  or  else  it  may  be  too  conservative 
to  adopt  the  methods  required  for  the  more  thorough 
tillage  of  its  field.  In  such  cases  it  is  best  to  have 
only  two  services,  letting  the  Sunday  school  take  the 
place  of  the  second  preaching  service,  and  having 
no  service  in  the  evening,  except  perhaps  a  prayer- 
meeting.  You  cannot  increase  the  water-power  of 
a  stream  by  building  new  mills  on  its  banks.  In 
many  places  there  is  an  unhealthy  competition 
between  the  Sunday  school  and  the  second  preach- 
ing service.  There  are  not  enough  people  to  pro- 
duce two  different  normally  developed  social  enti- 
ties, and  yo^u  have  a  kind  of  double-yolked  egg.  If 
you  build  up  one  service  you  pull  down  the  other. 

(b.)  The  second  preaching  service  should  be 
evangelistic  in  its  character.  At  the  morning  ser- 
vice the  minister  faces  the  saints;  at  the  evening  ser- 
vice he  faces  the  sinners.  The  morning  service  nat- 
urally culminates  in  Communion,  which  symbolizes 
the  progress  of  that  Christian  life  which  we  live  in 
mystical  union  with  Christ  and  His  disciples.  The 
evening  service  naturally  culminates  in  Baptism, 
which,  in  the  minds  of  all  Christians,  is  associated 
not  with  the  progress  of  the  Christian  life  but  with 
its  beginning.  In  the  morning  the  main  object  is 
the  edification  of  believers;  in  the  evening  the  con- 
version of  unbelievers.  Evangelistic  work  may  be 
defined  as  the  effort  to  persuade  people  to  accept 


Il6  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

Christ  immediately  by  faith  and  love,  or  if  they  are 
already  believers,  to  confess  Him  before  men. 

This  is  an  effort  in  which  we  should  be  engaged 
all  the  time.  The  church  should  know  what  it  is  to 
have  a  perpetual  revival.  At  its  meetings  for  prayer 
frequent  opportunities  should  be  given  for  people 
to  accept  Christ  or  to  confess  Him.  What  are  com- 
monly regarded  as  the  marks  of  a  revival?  Saints 
renew  their  consecration,  sinners  are  converted, 
secret  believers  confess  Christ,  wanderers  are  re- 
claimed. Now  these  various  phenomena  ought  to 
characterize  the  normal  every-day  life  of  the  church. 
It  is  a  mistake  for  us  to  look  for  special  periods  of 
time  during  which  exclusively  sinners  are  converted, 
followed  by  seasons  during  which  saints  are  edified. 
The  two  processes  should  go  on  side  by  side.  The 
church  should  be  like  an  orange  tree  on  which  you 
may  see,  at  the  same  time  the  blossom,  the  green 
fruit,  and  the  golden  orange.  The  soil  that  is  con- 
genial to  the  germination  of  a  tree  is  the  best  for  it 
to  grow  in.  The  atmosphere  best  suited  to  the  birth 
of  souls  is  most  favorable  to  their  culture.  The 
normal  experience  of  the  church  is  beautifully  de- 
scribed in  Leviticus,  xxvi,  5,  "  And  your  threshing 
shall  reach  unto  the  vintage,  and  the  vintage  unto 
the  sowing  time."  And  in  Deut.,  xi,  12,  ''A  land 
which  the  Lord  thy  God  careth  for:  the  eyes  of  the 
Lord  thy  God  are  always  upon  it,  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  year  even  unto  the  end  of  the  year." 
And  in  Amos,  ix,  13,  "  Behold,  the  days  come,  saith 
the  Lord,  that  the  plough-man  shall  overtake  the 
reaper,  and  the  treader  of  grapes  him  that  soweth 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH.  II7 

seed."  Our  Lord  taught  the  disciples  that  they 
were  not  to  expect  four  months  to  intervene  between 
seed-time  and  harvest  in  the  spiritual  world,  but  that 
the  sower  and  the  reaper  should  rejoice  together. 
During  an  experience  of  eighteen  years  in  New 
York,  I  have  found  Sunday  night  a  most  favorable 
time  for  the  translation  of  souls  from  the  kingdom 
of  this  world  into  the  kingdom  of  God's  dear  Son. 

But,  while  I  believe,  that  the  normal  condition  of 
the  church  should  be  one  of  perpetual  revival,  I 
would  also,  at  some  favorable  season  each  year, 
make  a  special  effort  for  the  conversion  of  souls. 
There  should  come  times  of  peculiar  refreshing. 
Such  a  revival  I  would  not  define,  in  accordance  with 
the  etymology  of  the  word,  as  a  return  from  real  or 
apparent  death.  Christ  did  not  mean  His  church 
to  be  subject  to  alternations  of  life  and  death  —  "a 
constant  interchange  of  growth  and  blight."  A  true 
revival  is  rather  an  acceleration  of  spiritual  life. 
Nature,  constantly  at  work  all  the  time,  nevertheless 
has  her  seasons  when  the  fruit  that  has  been  long 
developing  hastens  to  its  maturity.  Farmers  are  at 
work  all  the  year  around,  but  there  come  times  of 
special  efifort,  when  the  harvest  must  be  gathered 
rapidly  in.  In  the  book  of  Acts  we  see  how  Qiris- 
tianity,  in  its  earlier  days,  advanced  by  successive 
leaps.  In  our  mission-fields,  converts  are  gathered 
in  groups.  Tlie  fishing  of  the  New  Testament  was 
with  the  net,  almost  never  with  hook  and  line.  The 
consciousness  of  Qiristendom  is  true  to  her  earliest 
traditions,  in  setting  apart  each  year  a  time  when  we 
give  ourselves  especially  to  prayer.     All  the  Com- 


Il8  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

munions  are  coming  to  be  at  one  in  this.  The 
Romanists  and  the  EpiscopaHans  have  their  Lent. 
The  Methodist  Episcopal  church  does  not  think  of 
going  through  a  winter  without  a  protracted  meet- 
ing, and  Christians  of  other  bodies  attest  the  same 
deep-felt  need  by  the  Week  of  Prayer,  which  is  often 
followed  by  special  services.  I  have  never  passed 
a  winter  without  holding  a  series  of  special  services, 
rallying  my  church  for  evangelistic  work.  In  every 
instance  I  have  found  the  result  good.  You  break 
the  enemy's  line  of  battle  at  the  Week  of  Prayer; 
and  then  you  keep  picking  up  fugitives  till  the  time 
comes  for  another  special  efifort.  No  two  revivals 
are  alike;  just  as  no  two  conversions  are  alike.  We 
should  not  shape  too  exactly  and  arbitrarily  the  kind 
of  blessing  that  we  want  God  to  bestow.  Leave  all 
that  with  Him.  He  is  original  in  His  ways  with 
men.  He  never  repeats  Himself.  But  Christians 
cannot  come  together  and  pray  and  work  for  a  spe- 
cial blessing  without  receiving  just  the  blessing  they 
most  need.  Expectancy  is  the  great  requisite.  God 
never  disappoints.  **  Open  thy  mouth  wide,  and  I 
will  fill  it."  Evangelists  are  an  ingenious  and  ex- 
pensive device  for  awakening  in  a  church  the  spirit 
of  expectancy.  Then  the  blessing  comes.  It  would 
have  come  just  the  same  without  the  evangeUst,  had 
the  church  only  had  the  expectancy.  It  is  not  that 
the  evangelist  has  more  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  influ- 
ence, or  preaches  a  purer  Gospel  than  Dr.  John  Hall, 
for  instance,  but  that  people  have  come  to  expect 
that  a  revival  will  attend  his  steps. 

The  pastor  should  be  his  own  evangelist.     The 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  II9 

professional  evangelist  of  the  day  has  his  uses.  Let 
him  preach  Christ  among  the  unchurched  masses, 
or  standing  by  the  pastor's  side  in  some  feeble 
church,  let  him  build  it  up  for  a  new  career.  When 
a  number  of  strong  city  churches  unite  in  sending 
for  an  evangelist  to  hold  union  meetings,  the  success 
is  more  apparent  than  real.  Any  central  auditorium 
can  be  filled  by  the  contingents  of  worshippers  that 
assemble  from  the  different  churches  united  in  the 
effort.  There  will  be  large  audiences  and  enthusi- 
astic meetings,  but  the  residuum  of  definite,  endur- 
ing result  is  usually  small  —  quite  incommensurate 
with  the  effort  that  has  been  put  forth.  Such  evan- 
gelistic work  is  often  followed  by  a  reaction.  When 
the  evangelist  steps  ashore  he  is  quite  apt  to  push  the 
boat  only  further  out  into  the  stream.  A  philoso- 
pher complained  of  the  glue  he  bought  that  it  held 
only  as  long  as  the  agent  was  in  the  house.  When 
the  agent  was  gone  the  glue  would  not  work.  So 
there  are  people  whose  religion  does  not  seem  to 
work,  except  under  the  regime  of  some  evangelist. 
It  is  to  him  that  they  louk  for  comfort,  and  not  to 
the  pastor,  who  is  an  old  story.  In  fact,  spiritual 
fatherhood  involves  the  duty  of  spiritual  nurture. 
The  evangelist  has  to  leave  his  converts  like  found- 
lings on  a  doorstep,  for  someone  else  to  bring  up. 
I  would  not  care  to  be  an  evangelist.  It  is  pleas- 
anter  to  feed  one's  own  family  than  a  miscellaneous 
crowd.  It  is  delightful  to  see  the  fruits  ripening 
in  one's  own  spiritual  garden.  Who  does  not  re- 
member how  sweet  the  vegetables  tasted  which  our 
own  hands  planted  and  tended.     While  the  evangel- 


I20  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

ist  keeps  an  accurate  account  of  those  who  have 
been  converted  through  his  labors,  he  has  no  way 
of  keeping  a  Hst  of  the  thoughtful  people  who  have 
been  forever  repelled  from  Christianity  by  his  vio- 
lent and  often  grotesque  methods.  Fish  may  be 
captured  by  the  use  of  dynamite  cartridges.  You 
explode  them  on  a  sunken  reef  and  they  will  stun  all 
animal  life  within  a  hundred  feet.  In  this  way  you 
can  make  a  great  haul  of  fish.  The  drawback  is 
that  you  scare  whole  schools  of  fish  away  from  those 
feeding-grounds.  Where  dynamite  cartridges  are 
used,  fish  soon  become  very  scarce.  Many  evangel- 
ists lack  pastoral  instincts.  They  do  not  always  try 
to  strengthen  the  relations  between  the  people  and 
their  minister.  It  is  better  for  us  to  do  our  own 
evangelistic  preaching.  When  we  are  holding  ser- 
vices every  night,  our  people  will  put  up  with  old 
sermons.  We  can  have  some  evangelistic  attraction 
in  the  way  of  music  or  the  like  which  will  not,  in  the 
minds  even  of  the  more  thoughtless,  discredit  the 
pulpit.  This  will  bring  within  the  reach  of  our 
voice  those  who  do  not  usually  go  to  church. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  people  will  not 
do  as  much  for  the  pastor  as  they  will  for  an 
evangelist.  I  have  known  one  of  our  best  ministers 
to  wait  all  winter  for  an  evangelist  to  come, 
when,  if  he  had  had  the  courage  to  under- 
take special  meetings,  himself,  he  would  doubt- 
less have  had  better  and  larger  results.  We 
laboriously  gather  inflammable  materials  for  a 
fire,  and  when  they  are  all  placed  in  order 
we  simply  neglect  to  apply  the  match.     If  a  pastor 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  121 

must  have  help  from  without,  let  him  invite  some 
brother  minister  to  stand  by  his  side.  We  our- 
selves ought  to  do  more  of  this  evangelistic  work 
in  aid  of  other  ministerial  brethren.  Often  when 
disheartened  in  my  own  field  I  have  gone  away  and 
done  the  work  of  an  evangelist  for  five  days  between 
Sundays,  returning  to  my  people  with  new  faith  and 
courage. 

The  method  of  evangelism  which  I  have  found 
most  effective  at  the  service  Sunday  night,  and  in 
fact,  at  any  other  meeting,  is,  by  various  depletions, 
to  thin  out  the  audience,  gradually  removing  those 
who  are  tired  or  indifferent,  and  leaving  behind  only 
the  inquirers  and  those  Christians  who  want  to  linger 
a  while  for  the  sake  of  helping  someone  to  find 
Christ.  I  do  not  have  a  separate  inquiry-room  to 
which  the  inquirers  and  workers  repair,  but  I  turn 
the  audience-room  itself  into  an  inquiry-room  by 
gradually  weeding  those  out  —  members  of  the 
church  or  others  —  who  take  little  interest  in  the 
service,  and  w4io,  if  they  should  remain,  would  only 
complain  of  the  lengthiness  of  the  meeting.  Such 
Christians  are  of  most  use  to  the  church  when  they 
are  safe  at  home  —  asleep  in  bed.  This  leaves 
behind  only  the  more  earnest  Christians  and  the 
sincere  inquirers.  You  have  then  the  climate  favor- 
able to  the  new  birth.  The  Holy  Spirit's  presence 
may  be  always  depended  upon,  when  Christ  is  offered 
as  a  Savior  to  those  who  sincerely  desire  His 
salvation. 

Beginning  at  half-past  seven,  I  close  the 
Sunday    evening    preaching    service    at    a    quar- 


122  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

ter  to  nine  o'clock.  I  want  the  people  to 
feel  that  they  have  had  a  complete  service 
ending  with  the  benediction.  The  worship  is 
crisper,  brighter,  more  popular,  more  evangelistic 
than  in  the  morning.  When  giving  the  notices  I 
say  that  after  the  preaching  service,  we  shall  have  a 
more  familiar,  social  service  of  song,  lasting  for 
about  fifteen  minutes,  to  which  all  are  invited.  I 
arrange  for  this  service  to  begin  the  instant  the  bene- 
diction is  pronounced.  The  player  is  seated  at  the 
piano,  the  place  of  the  hymn  has  been  found,  and 
two  or  three  singers  at  least,  are  in  front,  ready  to 
lead  the  congregation.  Sometimes  I  have  a  violin 
or  some  such  special  musical  attraction  for  this 
service.  The  benediction  always  has  a  strong,  ex- 
pulsive influence.  It  will  throw  people  out  of 
church  almost  like  a  catapult.  Therefore,  the  instant 
the  benediction  is  over,  I  give  out  the  first  hymn  of 
the  song  service.  And  I  see  to  it  that  it  is  an  inspir- 
ing hymn.  The  people  at  first  seem  perplexed. 
One-third  of  the  audience  will  retire,  and  the  rest 
settle  down  for  the  song  service.  Then  I  come 
down  from  the  pulpit  and  promote  as  best  I  can  a 
prayer-meeting  atmosphere.  For  a  few  minutes  we 
sing  and  pray  and  speak.  Tlien  I  make  a  brief 
evangelistic  appeal,  and  try  to  persuade  seekers  and 
secret  believers  to  give  some  sign  of  interest.  Then 
while  the  closing  hymn  is  singing,  I  slip  through 
the  congregation  inviting  those  who  have  evinced 
any  interest  to  remain  for  personal  conversation  with 
me  after  the  service.  In  this  work  of  personal  invi- 
tation, I  am  sometimes  helped  by  judicious  Chris- 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  I23 

tians  whom  I  have  instructed  beforehand  to  take  a 
section  of  seats  and  to  watch  for  people  who  give 
signs  of  interest.  Then  I  close  the  meeting,  and  talk 
with  those  that  are  left  behind.  Some  of  my  mem- 
bers are  trained  to  do  this  personal  work,  each  one 
endeavoring  to  point  some  individual  to  Christ  or, 
at  least,  to  hold  him  for  a  personal  conversation  with 
me.  Sometimes  I  thin  the  meeting  out  again,  and 
have  still  another  after-meeting.  A  hymn  is  given 
out,  during  which  those  who  are  tired  or  live  far 
away  are  permitted  to  withdraw.  This  will  skim 
of?  perhaps  a  half  of  the  audience.  Tlie  meeting  as 
it  grows  smaller  becomes  more  interesting.  Some- 
times, having  put  someone  in  the  chair  to  give  out 
familiar  hymns,  I  pass  through  the  audience  distrib- 
uting some  little  floral  tract,  under  cover  of  which  I 
have  a  little  personal  word  with  those  who  may  seem 
interested,  trying  to  persuade  them  to  show  some 
sign  of  interest.  At  the  very  next  opportunity,  I  do 
not  find  that  these  methods  w^ear  out.  Seldom  a 
Sunday  evening  passes  without  my  discovering  those 
who  want  to  be  pointed  to  Christ,  or  who,  having 
found  Him,  desire  to  share  in  the  fellowship  of  His 
people.     (See  Appendix,  note  i.) 

2.  Church  Music.  Praise  is  the  musical  expres- 
sion of  the  gratitude  and  affection  which  we  feel 
toward  God.  It  should  never  be  thought  of  as 
merely  incidental,  something  to  fill  in  with.  Psalms 
and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs  in  which  we  glorify 
our  Blessed  Lord  remind  us  of  our  mercies  and 
enkindle  our  hearts  to  love  and  gratitude  and  joy. 
Through  her  service  of  praise  the  church  presents  a 


124  THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH. 

more  joyous  type  of  Christianity  than  in  the  rest  of 
her  worship,  and  thus  attracts  the  world,  especially 
the  young,  within  hearing  distance  of  the  Gospel. 
Sacred  music  comforts  the  sadness  of  humanity.  It 
is  the  best  anaesthesia  for  mental  pain,  and 

"  gentlier  on  the  spirit  lies 
Than  tir'd  eyelids  upon  tir'd  eyes." 

No  other  human  agency  has  such 

"  Power  to  mitigate  and  suage 
With  solemn  touches  troubled  thoughts,  and  chase 
Anguish  and  doubt,  and  fear,  and  sorrow,  and  pain 
From  mortal  or  immortal  minds." 

(a.)  The  Institutional  Church  should  use  the  best 
times.  Rich  and  varied  harmonies  should  be  wed- 
ded with  sweet  and  clear  melodies.  We  should  have 
done  with  cheap  and  sensational  music.  Keep  the 
musical  standard  high.  Give  people,  not  so  much 
what  they  want,  as  what  they  need.  I  have  found 
that  the  common  people  like  to  learn  to  sing  the  best 
music,  and  are  only  prevented  from  doing  so  by 
ministers  and  others  who  insist  that  they  can  appre- 
ciate nothing  but  trash.  Some  fine  classical  tunes 
have  inadvertently  crept  into  our  sacred  song-books 
like  Bursley,  Nicea,  Eventide,  Ewing,  and  the  like. 
Have  you  not  observed  how  eagerly  the  plain  people 
take  hold  of  such  tunes,  though  at  first  they  find 
them  hard  to  learn?  Give  them  a  chance  at  classical 
music,  and  you  will  be  surprised  to  find  how  quickly 
and  enthusiastically  they  will  learn  the  adaptations 
from  great  German  and  Italian  composers,  as  well 
as  the  deep  harmonies  of  the  modern  English  school. 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  1 25 

Music  has  become  a  part  of  our  public  education, 
and  is  filtering  down  to  the  lowest  strata  of  society. 
Foreigners  who  come  among  us  excel  in  musicianly 
quality  and  taste.  The  most  unpromising  people 
become  interested  in  Barnaby  and  Dykes,  Sullivan 
and  Monk,  Hopkins  and  Stainer.  They  like  to  sing 
what  it  is  worth  while  to  learn.  The  more  difficult 
the  piece,  the  more  pride  they  take  in  mastering  it. 
Only  very  sparingly  would  I  use  the  ordinary  sen- 
sational songs  —  only  in  outdoor  meetings  —  some- 
times in  a  mission  service.  Even  this  may  hinder  the 
process  of  education.  You  do  not  cure  a  man  of 
the  drink  habit  by  taking  him  off  on  an  occasional 
spree.  Let  us  as  rapidly  as  we  can  lead  the  people 
up  from  the  lower  plane  of  music  —  songs  that  sing 
themselves,  rocking-chair  melodies  —  to  that  higher 
level  of  true  art  which  we  can  only  enjoy  at  the 
expense  of  attention,  effort,  and  intelligent 
sympathy. 

True  art  does  not  take  tis,  but  requires  us  to 
give  ourselves.  It  has  been  well  said  by  Vernon 
Lee :  "  The  art  which  takes  and  catches  our  atten- 
tion the  most  easily,  asking  nothing  in  return,  or 
next  to  nothing,  is  also  the  poorest  art  —  the  oleo- 
graph, the  pretty  woman  in  the  fashion-plate,  the 
caricature,  the  representation  of  some  domestic  or 
harrowing  scene,  children  being  put  to  bed,  babes 
in  the  wood,  railway  accidents,  etc. ;  or  again,  dance 
or  march  music,  and  aphorisms  in  verse.  It  catches 
your  attention,  instead  of  your  attention  catching 
it;  but  it  speedily  ceases  to  interest,  gives  you  noth- 
ing more,  cloys,  or  comes  to  a  dead  stop.     It  resem- 


126  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

bles  thus  far  mere  sensual  pleasures  —  a  savory  dish, 
a  glass  of  good  wine,  an  excellent  cigar,  a  warm 
bed,  which  impose  themselves  on  the  nerves  without 
expenditure  of  attention;  with  the  result,  of  course, 
that  little  or  nothing  remains,  a  sensual  impression 
dying,  so  to  speak,  childless,  a  barren,  disconnected 
thing,  without  place  in  the  memory,  unmarried  as 
it  is  to  the  memory's  clients,  thought  and  human 
feeling." 

Sensational  singing,  like  sensational  preaching, 
gains  immediate  result,  at  the  expense  of  the  future. 
You  raise  money  by  putting  a  mortgage  on  your 
house.  It  is  better  to  succeed  more  slowly.  If  your 
ideal  in  music  is  high,  many  people  will  complain, 
and  inquire,  **  What  are  you  giving  us?"  Like 
Shakespeare's  Puritan,  they  want  to  *'  sing  psalms 
to  hornpipes."  But  be  patient  with  them.  In  the 
end  they  will  thank  you  that  you  bore  with  their 
petulance,  and  led  them  by  a  better,  though  a  steeper 
path. 

(b.)  Old  times,  if  they  are  good,  have  a  peculiar 
charm.  We  cannot  be  all  the  time  learning  new 
tunes.  Do  not  turn  the  church  into  a  singing- 
school.  The  congregation  has  certain  rights  which 
even  a  minister  is  bound  to  respect,  and  one  of  them 
is  that  at  every  service  at  least  one  tune,  perhaps  the 
last  one,  should  be  absolutely  familiar  to  all,  so  that 
the  church  shall  resound  with  a  vast  volume  of 
praise. 

(c.)  But  while  the  people  have  a  right  to  at  least 
one  familiar  tune  at  each  service,  they  should 
also    be    learning    new    tunes    all    the    time.    Sing 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  1 27 

unto  the  Lord  a  nczu-inadc  song.  Otherwise, 
we  drop  into  a  rut,  and  keep  singing  over  and 
over  a  few  old  hymns.  It  requires  self-denial  to 
give  out  a  new  tune  in  church.  It  is  a  weak  point 
with  us  ministers  that  we  want  every  number  on  our 
program  to  be  equally  good.  It  makes  us  nervous 
that  any  part  of  the  worship  should  languish.  And 
so  we  are  slow  to  give  out  a  tune  that  we  are  sure 
the  congregation  cannot  sing.  But  how  else  can 
we  learn  new  music?  Some  churches  are  in  posses- 
sion of  a  large  and  expensive  hymn-book,  a  rich 
repertoire  of  classical,  sacred  music  —  and  yet  they 
will  keep  singing  over  the  same  fifty  or  seventy-five 
tunes.  Tliey  might  just  as  well  have  these  hymns 
bound  up  into  a  cheap  volume  by  themselves. 

My  plan  is  to  select  in  the  hymn-book,  with  the  aid 
of  my  musical  director,  say  ten  fine  unfamiliar  tunes, 
marking,  them  with  the  figure  i.  I  keep  giving 
these  out,  one  at  a  service,  until  they  have  been 
thoroughly  learned.  Then  I  take  another  contin- 
gent of  ten  new  pieces,  marking  them  with  the  figure 
2;  and  so  on.  In  this  way,  I  develop  the  resources 
of  the  hymn-book.  At  every  service  the  first  of  the 
diree  hymns  will  be  somewhat  familiar,  the  second 
entirely  new,  and  the  third  well  known  to  all.  I  do 
not  endeavor  to  adapt  the  hymns  to  the  sermon, 
except,  indeed,  sometimes  the  closing  hymn.  I  like 
to  keep  the  sermon  in  its  place,  being  content  to 
preach  it  without  singing  it  or  praying  it.  The  new 
tunes  we  sometimes  sing  over  at  the  prayer-meeting 
during  the  week  before.  The  people  become  inter- 
ested in  learning  the  new  hymns,  and  seeing-  them 


128  THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH. 

pass  successively  from  the  category  of  the  entirely 
new,  to  that  of  the  somewhat  familiar,  finally  becom- 
ing welt  known  to  all.  I  find,  too,  that  the  people 
easily  learn  to  sing  chants,  if  you  only  give  them  the 
opportunity;  and  there  is  no  kind  of  singing  that 
they  enjoy  more. 

(d.)  In  order  to  inspire  the  people  to  sing  and 
to  keep  them  in  time  and  tune,  you  need  a  large, 
volunteer,  chorus  choir. 

I  used  to  think  that  the  choir  ought  to 
be  in  tront  of  the  people  —  behind  and  around 
and  over  the  minister.  But  we  have  changed 
all  that.  I  have  grown  more  conservative.  It 
seems  to  me  more  philosophical  that  in  the  praise 
of  God  the  choir  should  not  sing  to  the  people,  nor 
the  people  to  the  choir,  but  that  all  should  face  in 
the  same  direction.  I  find  that  the  river  of  song 
flowing  down  upon  the  people  from  behind  carries 
their  voices  along  better  in  the  congregational  sing- 
ing. Besides,  it  is  difficult  to  arrange  room  for  as 
large  a  choir  behind  the  minister  as  in  front  of  him. 
Again  the  members  of  my  choir  are  among  my  best 
listeners,  and  how  could  I  preach  to  them  if  they 
were  behind  me?  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  I  have 
succeeded,  in  the  course  of  my  ministry,  in  persuad- 
ing one  musical  director  to  join  the  church,  also  an 
organist;  and  this  is  no  easy  task.  Not  that  artists 
are  bad  people.  I  have  found  them  very  good.  I 
would  rather  associate  with  them  than  with  anybody 
else.  But  with  artists,  too  often,  their  art  is  their 
religion  and,  besides,  nuisicians  in  church  are  neces- 
sarily so  absorbed  in  attending  to  the  details  of  the 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  1 29 

worship  that  they  hardly  have  leisure  to  listen  to  the 
truth  for  themselves.  In  this  respect  they  are  almost 
as  much  deprived  of  the  Gospel  as  the  minister  him- 
self, of  whom  the  people  strangely  expect  an  extra- 
ordinary amount  of  good  behavior,  although  he 
almost  never  hears  a  sermon,  except  indirectly  from 
his  own  lips.  I  have  sometimes  thought  there  ought 
to  be  a  society  for  propagating  the  Gospel  among 
ministers.  Public  functionaries  in  the  church  are 
not  easily  impressed  with  spiritual  things.-  Did  you 
ever  hear  of  the  conversion  of  an  undertaker?  Now, 
if  your  choir  is  behind  you,  it  is  not  easy  for  them 
to  become  interested  in  your  preaching,  and  you 
must  not  think  it  strange  if  they  sometimes  whisper, 
or  even  silently  withdraw  from  the  gallery  during 
the  sermon,  to  return  in  time  for  the  closing  hymn. 
Then  if  the  choir  and  congregation  front 
each  other,  telegraphic  glances  will  be  fre- 
quently exchanged  between  them.  You  will 
have  to  be  unusually  rich  in  personal  magnet- 
ism if,  while  you  are  preaching,  you  can 
so  rivet  the  attention  of  all  your  listeners, 
that  the  eyes  of  none  of  them  will  ever  wander  away 
to  some  bright  face  in  the  gallery  above.  I  heard 
Mr.  Henry  M.  Stanley  lecture  once  on  "  Darkest 
Africa."  He  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Beecher,  who 
remained  on  the  platform  during  the  lecture,  and 
even  while  Mr.  Stanley  was  telling  the  most  thrilling 
stories  of  his  adventures  my  eyes  could  not  help 
wandering  away  from  him  to  rest  upon  the  expres- 
sive face  of  Mr.  Beecher,  framed  by  his  shock  of 


130  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

snowy  hair.  It  is  a  mistake  for  ministers  to  expose 
themselves  to  the  risk  of  a  counter-attraction. 

Again,  there  are  singers-  who  will  more 
readily  join  the  choir  when  they  can  slip 
into  it  behind  the  congregation,  and  not  ex- 
pose themselves  to  public  view  before  all  the 
people.  These  are  some  of  the  reasons  why  I 
have  put  the  singers  behind  the  people,  building  at 
the  front  of  our  main  auditorium  a  choir  gallery 
ample  enough  to  seat  one  hundred  and  fifty  singers. 

You  need  as  musical  director,  a  man  of  severe 
taste,  sound  judgment,  intense  magnetism,  tireless 
patience  in  drill,  and  consummate  executive  ability, 
— reverent,  amiable,  tactful  and  devoted  to  his  art. 
You  do  not  employ  him  merely  to  sing,  but  to  pro- 
duce and  maintain  a  great,  complicated  social  organ- 
ism. He  should  be  a  teacher  of  vocal  music;  and  it 
will  be  a  great  help  to  him  if  he  can  have  as  the 
core  of  his  choir  a  few  of  his  own  pupils.  In  the 
case  of  singers  of  promise,  with  limited  means,  it  is 
wise  for  the  church  to  pay  for  their  lessons,  in  com- 
pensation for  their  services  as  singers  in  the  choir. 
In  this  way  your  choir  becomes  a  seed  plot.  As 
your  singers  become  more  proficient,  they  will  find 
more  remunerative  positions  elsewhere,  and  you  will 
have  opened  the  way  for  them  to  reach  higher  and 
more  lucrative  work.  The  best  music  should  be 
sung,  and  this  itself  will  attract  good  singers  to  your 
choir.  The  church  becomes  a  kind  of  musical  home 
for  lovers  of  good  music. 

Tlie  singers  should  be  Christians.  Tlie  prime 
requisite  for  membership  in  the  choir  is  not  musical 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  131 

proficiency,  as  you  would  at  first  suppose,  but  first 
and  foremost,  amiability. 

Tlie  choir  should  sing  an  anthem  at  each 
service,  the  congregation  being  provided  with 
the  words  of  the  anthem  in  printed  form. 
Singers  will  join  the  choir  just  for  the  pleasure  of 
learning  and  singing  the  anthem  music,  provided  it 
is  of  a  high  order.  You  cannot  expect  them  to  come 
to  rehearsal  and  spend  an  evening  simply  practicing 
hymns  for  the  following  Sunday.  The  anthem  is 
like  the  first  line  of  a  copy-book,  keeping  before  the 
congregation  a  specimen  of  what  perfect  singing  is. 
Tlie  goal  to  be  reached,  however,  is  good  congrega- 
tional singing.  Everything  else  must  work  to  that 
end.  This  is  not  easily  achieved.  It  is  much  sim- 
pler to  hire  four  people  to  do  your  singing  for  you. 
But  this  method  is  mechanical  and  has  very  little 
educational  value,  except  to  the  four  singers  them- 
selves. We  must  keep  at  it  until  the  whole  congre- 
gation becomes  a  great  chorus  choir,  singing  the 
best  music,  and  bringing  forth  out  of  its  treasure 
tunes  new  and  old. 

Tliere  are  many  difficulties  in  the  way,  but 
the  prize  is  worth  striving  for.  The  first 
difficulty  is  to  get  the  congregation,  and  this  is 
sometimes  insurmountable.  You  cannot  have  con- 
gregational singing  without  a  congregation.  And 
when  you  have  your  congregation,  it  is  hard  to  per- 
suade them  to  sing.  The  best  musicians  will  refuse 
to  join  their  voices  to  indiscriminate  singing.  As  in 
Nehemiah's  time,  "their  nobles  put  not  their  necks  to 
the  work  of  their  Lord."    These  choice  singers  keep 


132  THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH. 

their  voices  as  if  in  a  band-box,  fearing  to  spoil  them 
by  contact  with  the  uninitiated.  Congregational 
singing  grates  on  their  ears.  They  miss  the  delicate 
shading  of  tone  and  the  nice  balance  of  parts  which 
characterize  good  quartet  singing.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  unmusical  withhold  their  voices,  fearing 
to  make  mistakes  in  time  or  tune.  Many  persons, 
too,  have  no  interest  whatever  in  the  singing,  and  the 
musical  part  of  the  service  is  a  bore  to  them.  Tliey 
sometimes  even  have  the  air  of  being  in  pain. 
Others  again,  feel  too  tired  and  sad  to  sing.  All  this 
impairs  the  congregational  song.  Its  volume  is 
diminished  —  one  here  and  one  there  refusing  to  add 
his  mite,  filching  by  handfuls  from  that  great  offer- 
ing of  human  praise  which  ought  to  go  up  to  God. 
So  slow  and  laborious  a  process  is  it  to  achieve 
good  congregational  singing  in  the  ordinary  church. 
Many  years  will  slip  away  before  you  arrive  at  your 
goal.  You  may  account  yourself  highly  favored  if 
your  people  suflfer  you  to  realize  your  ideal  of  con- 
gregational song,  before  your  own  ears  will  have 
become  too  dull  through  age  for  you  to  enjoy  it  to 
the  full  yourself. 

The  age  of  admission  to  the  church  choir  should 
be  sixteen.  But  you  may  have,  besides,  a  junior 
choir,  admitting  children  from  nine  to  fifteen.  They 
will  reinforce  the  church  choir  in  leading  the  con- 
gregational singing,  and  will  sometimes,  perhaps, 
sing  a  selection  of  their  own.  The  junior  choir  will 
serve  as  a  training-school  from  which  children  will 
be  graduated  into  the  church  choir.  The  musical 
director  will  have   supervision    of  both  choirs,  his 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  133 

Spirit  and  ideals  influencing  and  pervading  the  whole 
congregation,  from  their  childhood  to  old  age.  The 
pastor  and  the  director  should  keep  in  closest  touch. 
Though  not  musical,  I  like  to  attend  the  rehearsals, 
and  some  of  my  happiest  hours  are  spent  in  the  choir 
gallery. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

Worship  —  Week- Day  Services. 
I.  The  Church  Prayer-Meeting. 

With  us  the  Church  meets  on  Friday  evening  for 
social  worship,  older  people  preponderating  (in  other 
words,  the  Prayer-meeting).  The  Prayer-meeting 
is  the  act  of  coming  together  at  stated  seasons  in 
the  church  or  elsewhere  for  the  purpose  of  social, 
informal,  and  spontaneous  worship.  One  person 
alone  cannot  have  a  prayer-meeting.  There  must 
be  at  least  two  or  three  gathered  together.  Tlie 
word  "  meeting  "  in  this  connection  does  not  involve 
the  idea  of  a  meeting  between  man  and  God  as  in 
the  ancient  phrase  "  tabernacle  of  the  congregation," 
more  correctly  rendered  "  tent  of  meeting,"  descrip- 
tive of  the  spot  where  Jehovah  met  with  his  people. 
The  word  "  prayer-meeting "  conveys  rather  the 
thought  of  people  meeting  together  for  worship,  not 
of  people  meeting  with  God. 

Tlie  personnel  of  the  prayer-meeting  consists 
usually  of  Qiristians,  most  of  whom  are  members  of 


134  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

the  Church,  together  with  scattering  cases  of  those 
who  are  not  followers  of  Christ.  The  service  is 
ordinarily  conducted  by  the  pastor  of  the  church, 
although  it  is  not  considered  improper  that  the 
leader  should  be  one  of  the  other  officers  of  the 
church,  or  even  a  private  member. 

The  prayer-meeting  is  usually  held  once  a  week, 
and  lasts  from  one  hour  to  an  hour  and  a  half. 
Wednesday  night  is  considered  by  many  a  favorable 
time,  so  that  the  prayer-meeting  may  come  halfway 
between  the  Sundays,  like  a  rock  in  mid-stream  upon 
which  a  spent  swimmer  rests  his  hand  and  takes 
breath  before  completing  the  passage.  Sometimes, 
however,  Friday  night  is  chosen  for  the  prayer- 
meeting;  and  then  it  is  quite  customary  to  have  some 
other  public  service  on  Tuesday  evening,  in  order 
that  the  symmetry  of  hebdomadal  worship  may  be 
preserved  —  Tuesdays  and  Fridays  being  regarded 
as  the  foci  in  an  ellipse  of  which  the  two  consecutive 
Sundays  are  the  vertices. 

The  prayer-meeting  is  not  as  a  rule  held  in  the 
main  auditory  of  the  church.  The  people  do  not 
feel  at  home  there.  They  lack  what  is  called  the 
elbow  touch.  Many  Christians,  like  the  Delphic 
girl,  seem  dependent  upon  poisoned  air  for  their 
inspiration.  The  close,  mephitic  atmosphere  of  a 
small,  ill-ventilated  room  is  conducive  to  that  fever- 
ishness  without  which  the  prayer-meeting  seems 
cold  and  dull.  The  fitful  and  evanescent  devotion  of 
the  prayer-meeting  is  hardly  robust  enough  to  endure 
the  ample  spaces  and  pure  air  of  the  main  audi- 
tory.    The  week-night  meeting  is  usually  held  in  a 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  135 

smaller  room,  called  a  chapel  or  vestry,  which  is  too 
often  a  musty  conventicle  inaccessible  to  the  public 
street  —  the  last  place  in  the  world  into  which  you 
can  allure  an  unregenerate  man.  It  has  too  much 
of  a  mouse-trap  look.  He  is  shy  of  being  caught. 
He  is  afraid  of  coming  into  too  close  quarters  with 
Christians,  lest  he  should  have  to  be  converted  in 
self-defense.  It  seems  to  me  that  if  sometimes  of  a 
Sunday  night,  for  instance,  at  the  close  of  the  preach- 
ing service,  the  minister  and  his  fellow-Christians 
had  the  courage  to  gear  themselves  up  for  a  prayer- 
meeting,  immediately  after  the  benediction,  in  the 
main  auditory  of  the  church  —  an  ample  opportun- 
ity, of  course,  being  given  for  those  to  escape  who 
wish  to  do  so  —  many  people  might  be  reached  who 
otherwise  would  never  venture  within  the  narrow, 
charmed  circle  of  the  prayer-meeting. 

The  exercises  of  the  prayer-meeting  consist  of 
Scripture  reading  and  a  brief  address  by  the  leader; 
prayers,  either  by  the  leader  or  by  other  Christians, 
of  their  own  volition,  or  as  requested  by  the  leader; 
hymns  that  are  usually  of  a  lighter  and  more  cheerful 
character  than  those  that  are  used  on  Sunday;  and 
testimonies  —  that  is,  brief  remarks  in  which  the 
believers  present  confess  their  faith  or  describe  their 
spiritual  experience,  or  state  and  illustrate  truths 
which  they  have  learned  from  the  Bible. 

The  distinctive  feature  of  the  prayer-meeting  is  its 
social  character.  On  Sunday  morning  the  church 
meets  to  hold  a  service  which  in  its  order  and  char- 
acter is  thoroughly  premeditated,  stately,  massive, 
and  ornate.     The  main  object  of  it  is  the  edification 


136  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

of  the  saints.  In  the  Sunday  school  the  church 
meets  for  the  study  of  the  Bible.  On  Sunday  even- 
ing the  Church  meets  to  hold  a  more  popular  service, 
through  which  it  may  attract  and  reach  the  outside 
world.  At  the  prayer-meeting  the  church  meets  for 
a  more  social  service,  in  which  all  may  actively  par- 
ticipate, whether  private  members  or  those  holding 
official  positions.  In  fact,  this  gathering  of  the 
church  at  the  prayer-meeting  seems  to  be  as  closely 
modelled  as  any  of  the  rest  of  our  services  upon  the 
primitive  assembly  of  the  Christians  in  apostolic 
times,  as  described,  for  instance,  in  I  Cor.,  xiv. 
When  they  came  together  each  one  had  a  psalm,  a 
teaching,  a  revelation,  a  tongue,  or  an  interpretation, 
and  when  they  prophesied  it  was  not  an  uncommon 
thing  that  one  who  had  come  in  an  unbeliever  and 
unlearned  to  be  convinced  of  sin  and  to  fall  down  on 
his  face  and  worship  God,  and  declare  that  God  was 
in  them  of  a  truth.  Churches  that  never  have  pray- 
er-meetings will  avoid  many  difficulties.  Their  wor- 
ship will  never  be  marred  by  extravagance  or  vul- 
garity. It  will  be  very  proper,  but  it  will  be  the 
propriety  of  the  graveyard.     It  will  be 

"  Faultily  faultless,  icily  regular,  splendidly  null." 

It  will  lack  the  spontaneity  and  inspiration  which 
characterized  the  assemblies  of  the  primitive  saints. 
Such  Christians  will  not  have  their  feelings  ruffled 
or  be  made  indignant,  like  St.  Paul,  when  a  crazy, 
hysterical  girl  disturbed  his  meeting  and  brought 
contempt  on  his  message  by  crying  out,  "  These  men 
are  the  servants  of  the  Most  High  God,  which  show 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  137 

unto  us  the  way  of  salvation."  Neither  will  they 
have  the  power  to  say,  as  did  he,  "  I  command  thee, 
in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  come  out  of  her." 

But  the  definition  of  a  prayer-meeting  is  not  com- 
plete without  a  statement  of  its  purposes.  One  of  its 
objects  is  the  refreshment  of  Christians.  Sundays 
seem  too  far  apart.  The  souFs  plumage,  ruffed  and 
torn  by  sin  and  care,  needs  oftener  to  be  smoothed 
through  worship.  In  the  prayer-meeting  the  spirit 
finds  a  response  to  its  eager  sigh 

"  Calm  me,  my  God,  and  keep  me  calm; 

Let  Thine  outstretched  wing 
Be  like  the  shade  of  Elim's  palm, 

Beside  her  desert  spring." 

Even  when  viewed  from  the  worldly  standpoint 
the  prayer-meeting  may  be  conducted  in  such  a  way 
as  to  have  great  recreative  value.  People  in  our 
great  town  like  to  go  out  somewhere  at  night.  They 
resemble  that  French  emigre  who  refused  to  marry 
the  lady  with  whom  he  spent  all  his  evenings,  asking, 
with  a  shrug,  "  And  where  shall  I  go,  then,  to  spend 
my  evenings?  "  If  they  are  ever  so  tired,  it  is  better 
for  working-people  to  have  a  change  of  scene  rather 
than  to  drop  down  in  their  tracks.  The  prayer- 
meeting  provides  them  with  an  innocent  place  to  go 
to  in  the  evening.  They  have  probably  been  on  their 
feet  all  day,  and  now  they  have  comfortable  chairs 
to  sit  down  in.  The  service  is  short,  so  that,  having 
secured  the  needed  change  in  the  current  of  their 
thoughts  and  feelings,  they  can  retire  early;  while 
the  theatres,  in  their  endeavors  to  rest  the  people, 


138  THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH. 

have  not  the  sense  to  be  brief,  but  trench  upon  our 
sleeping  hours,  so  that  we  come  jaded  to  our  work 
on  the  following  morning.  The  room  for  the  prayer- 
meeting  is  full  of  music  and  light.  There  is  an 
atmosphere  of  sympathy  and  sociability.  The  songs 
and  prayers  and  addresses  are  brief,  so  as  to  secure 
a  diverting  variety  of  thought  and  feeling,  and  the 
mind  is  not  wearied  and  strained  as  by  a  long  ser- 
mon. The  pastor  should  shake  hands  with  all  the 
people  as  they  come  in.  His  personality  should  not 
be  fenced  in  by  the  platform,  but  should  pervade  the 
whole  room.  I  believe  the  place  of  prayer  may  be 
made  so  attractive,  even  to  children  and  young  peo- 
ple, that  their  godly  parents  will  have  misgivings 
about  allowing  them  to  attend  for  fear  they  will  get 
too  much  enjoyment  out  of  their  religion. 

We  are  making  a  mistake  in  trying  to  attract 
the  young  with  cheap  and  trashy  music.  There 
is  too  much  musical  culture  in  the  air.  There 
should  be  able  leadership  in  the  singing.  The 
richest  and  best  harmonies  should  be  selected. 
Even  the  commonest  people  aspire  toward  the  most 
classical  music,  and  are  only  prevented  from  enjoying 
it  by  ministers  and  teachers  who  insist  that  what  they 
want  is  dance-hall  melody.  A  reaction  has  begun 
to  set  in.  People  are  satiated  with  musical  con- 
fectionery. Choose  Barnby  and  D3^kes  instead. 
Have  done,  once  for  all,  with  the  snuffling,  droning 
cabinet  organ  and  the  rank,  ear-splitting  cornet. 
Substitute  the  spirited  piano  and  the  delicate  human 
tones  of  the  violin.  Enliven  the  meeting  with  an 
occasional  solo.     I  have  found  it  worth  while,  during 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  139 

the  first  part  of  the  service,  to  rehearse  some  of  the 
more  unfamihar  hymns  and  chants  that  we  are  to 
have  the  following*  Sunday. 

But  the  prayer-meeting  is  not  for  recreation  alone; 
its  aim  is  also  instruction,  especially  of  beginners  in 
the  faith.  The  young  Christian  is  not  only  taught 
the  truth,  he  learns  to  use  it  in  public  prayer  and 
address.  We  do  not  really  possess  an  idea  except 
as  we  impart  it  to  others.  How  many  an  able 
preacher  learned  to  do  his  first  thinking-  on  his  feet 
in  the  prayer-meeting,  and  timidity  and  hesitation 
often  have  in  them  the  promise  of  future  power.  It 
is  Cicero  that  writes  to  Cecilius :  *'  I,  I  say,  so  help 
me  heaven,  when  the  day  approaches  on  which  I 
shall  be  called  upon  to  defend  a  client,  am  not  only 
disturbed  in  mind,  but  tremble  in  every  limb." 
Every  effort  should  be  made  to  keep  the  prayer- 
meeting  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  same 
faithful  few  who  speak  and  pray  every  time.  The 
new  convert  should  be  encouraged  to  take  an  active 
part,  beginning  perhaps  with  a  verse  of  Scripture 
and  then  proceeding  to  give  some  little  thought  sug- 
gested by  it.  It  is  very  helpful  to  have  definite 
requests  for  prayer  presented  early  in  the  meeting, 
and  then  to  call  upon  one  and  another  young  Chris- 
tian to  pray,  provided,  of  course,  that  his  permis- 
sion has  been  gained  beforehand. 

In  the  prayer-meeting,  moreover,  there  will  be 
generally  found  those  who  have  not  begun  the 
Christian  life;  or,  if  they  are  believers  at  all,  have 
not  joined  the  Church.  Christians  should  be  gifted 
with  a  kind  of  adhesiveness,  so  that  they  will  not 


I40  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

come  alone,  but  will  bring  unbelievers  with  them; 
and  these  are  to  be  persuaded  to  accept  Christ  and 
to  confess  Him.  Every  prayer-meeting  should  be 
not  only  recreative  and  instructive  but  evangelistic. 
A  minister  sometimes  thinks,  "  My  mission  is  to 
edify  the  saints.  There  are  enough  Christians  of 
the  kind  we  have.  Let  us  not  make  any  more.  Let 
us,  rather,  try  to  raise  the  character  of  the  Christians 
in  the  churches,  and  this  will  of  itself  most  efifectually 
impress  and  convince  the  people  who  stand  without." 
But  is  not  the  atmosphere  that  is  favorable  for  the 
birth  of  a  soul  the  very  best  atmosphere  for  that  soul 
to  grow  in?  Will  not  a  tree  thrive  best  in  the 
environment  that  caused  it  to  spring  up?  And  is 
any  exercise  more  conducive  to  the  development  of 
the  Christian  life  than  to  engage  in  the  work  of  the 
Master  who  came  to  save  that  which  was  lost? 

There  is  truth,  then,  in  the  old  saying  that  "  the 
prayer-meeting  is  the  very  pulse  of  the  Church;" 
and  just  so  far  as  it  fails  to  refresh  and  instruct  saints 
and  to  convert  sinners  it  is  sure  to  decline.  In  a 
great  town  like  ours  the  prayer-meeting  has  to  strug- 
gle for  its  existence ;  and  it  is  not  strange  that  many 
think  it  has  seen  its  best  days  and  belongs  to  the 
old  order  *'  that  change th,  yielding  place  to  new." 

The  late  dinner,  where  the  family  naturally  linger 
about  the  cheerful  board,  makes  the  prayer-meeting 
seem  a  hardship  to  people  of  comfort  and  fashion; 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  workingman,  having 
washed  himself  and  eaten  his  evening  meal,  is 
tempted  to  fall  asleep  by  his  fire  or  to  betake  himself 


THE   IxXSTiTUTIONAL    CHURCH.  141 

to  the  saloon,  where  there  is  no  definite   hour  of 
beginning  or  closing. 

In  our  larger  churches  the  very  bigness  of  the 
assembly  of  worshippers  tends  to  dissipate  the  home- 
like atmosphere.  Very  few  are  qualified  to  address 
a  large  number  of  people;  their  voices  reach  only 
the  narrow  circle  of  those  who  sit  immediately  about 
them,  while  over  the  rest  of  the  people  there  broods 
a  dull  silence.  For  this  reason  the  weekly  prayer- 
meeting  little  by  little  changes  its  essential  character. 
It  has  the  inspiration  of  numbers  indeed,  but  be- 
comes more  formal.  The  pastor,  or  some  other 
person  selected  beforehand,  delivers  a  kind  of  lec- 
ture, and  after  a  prayer  or  tW'O  the  service  ends  with- 
out the  free  commingling  of  thought  and  feeling  that 
is  the  distinctive  feature  of  the  prayer-meeting. 
Sometimes  a  foreign  missionary  takes  up  the  hour; 
again,  a  Sunday-school  specialist  or  the  agent  of 
some  benevolent  society  presents  his  views.  And 
so,  before  the  people  are  hardly  aware  of  it,  all  the 
essential  features  of  the  prayer-meeting  gradually 
disappear.  Now,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  this 
process  must  necessarily  go  on  in  the  large  and 
growing  Qhurches.  My  way  of  meeting  the  diffi- 
culty is  to  appoint  for  some  other  than  the  regular 
night  a  service  in  which  the  old  prayer-meeting  ideas 
will  be  preserved.  Have  as  a  standing  subject,  for 
instance,  **  Echoes  from  Sunday,"  and  cultivate  anew 
the  homelike  feeling  that  has  disappeared  from  the 
regular  w^ek-night  service.  The  final  outcome  of 
this  progress  of  evolution  will  be  a  meeting  every 
night  of  the  week,  and  each  service  will  have  its  dis- 


142  THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH. 

tinctive  character.  There  will  be  a  service  for 
singers,  a  service  especially  for  the  Church,  a  service 
for  young  people,  a  service  for  Sunday-school  work- 
ers and  teachers,  all  culminating  in  a  large  general 
service.  In  this  way  the  wants  of  all  will  be  met, 
and  the  passer-by  will  find  the  church  bright  and 
open  every  evening.  In  our  own  church  we  seem 
best  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  community  by  holding 
our  church  prayer-meeting  on  Friday  night,  our 
young  people's  meeting  on  Wednesday  night,  and, 
on  Monday,  Tuesday,  Thursday  and  Saturday  nights 
what  we  call  a  Gospel  Meeting.  What  we  must 
guard  against  is  the  multiplication  of  meetings 
beyond  the  real  demand  for  them.  The  rule  is  to 
start  no  new  meeting  until  the  attendance  at  the  ser- 
vices you  already  have  suggests  the  need  of  an  over- 
flow. It  has  always  seemed  to  me,  too,  that  the 
regular  week-night  prayer-meeting  of  the  church 
should  take  the  precedence  in  a  Christian's  thought 
over  all  other  meetings.  It  should  have  the  right 
of  way.  The  others  are  to  be  regarded  as  extras, 
to  be  attended  if  one  wishes,  but  over  and  above  all 
the  church  prayer-meeting.  Otherwise,  there  is  dan- 
ger of  a  break  in  the  organic  unity;  instead  of  one 
church  you  have  practically  a .  congeries  of  little 
churches.  There  is  a  tendency  in  our  time  for  the 
young  people  to  have  a  little  church  of  their  own  at 
the  expense  of  the  general  Church  life. 

Most  ministers  will  agree  that  it  is  more  difficult 
to  have  a  good  prayer-meeting  than  a  good  preach- 
ing service.  One  obstacle  is  the  disinclination,  even 
of  the  best  people,  to  co-operate  otherwise  than  in 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  143 

congregational  song.  With  many,  this  can  never 
be  overcome.  Others  may  be  persuaded  beforehand 
to  allow  you  to  ask  them  to  speak  or  to  lead  in 
prayer.  The  subject,  too,  should  be  opened  in  such 
a  suggestive  manner  as  to  be  easily  discussed  even 
by  untrained  minds.  My  own  custom  is  to  have  in 
my  mind  a  full  sermon  analysis,  and  after  giving 
the  first  point,  endeavor  by  skilful  questions  to  draw 
the  others  out  of  the  people.  The  opening  address 
should  not  be  too  condensed  and  finished.  There 
should  be  left  rough  edges  for  the  people  to  take 
hold  of.  Tlie  blackboard  can  be  very  effectively 
used  in  the  prayer-meeting. 

Long  remarks,  either  by  the  leader  or  others,  are 
fatal  to  the  interest  and  power  of  the  prayer-meet- 
ing. A  minister  who  was  apt  to  occupy  more  than 
his  share  of  the  time  in  the  prayer-meeting  and  then 
wonder  why  the  members  of  the  church  did  not  take 
part,  chanced  to  be  speaking  one  evening  on  the 
healing  of  the  ten  lepers,  and  of  the  one  who  re- 
turned to  give  glory  to  Christ,  and  why  the  nine  did 
not  do  so  too;  to  which  one  of  the  deacons  replied 
that  he  thought  *'  it  was  quite  likely  the  first  one 
took  up  all  the  time."  Almost  every  church  has  its 
prayer-meeting  killers.  We  should  try  gentle  pri- 
vate persuasion  before  open  rebuke,  and,  above  all 
things,  never  betray  irritation  in  public.  A  minis- 
terial friend  of  mine  was  once  settled  near  a  theo- 
logical seminary,  the  professors  of  which  were  in 
the  habit  of  attending  his  meetings  and  of  consum- 
ing more  than  their  share  of  the  time.  On  one 
occasion  a  professor  had  used  up  about  twenty  min- 


144  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

utes  in  his  address.  When  he  finished,  my  friend, 
in  his  despair,  was  about  to  close  the  meeting  with 
the  benediction,  when  a  httle  boy  who  had  been  con- 
verted a  short  time  before  arose  and  said,  *'  I  am 
thankful  to  say  that  I  am  still  trusting  the  Savior. 
II.  The  Young  People's  Prayer-Meeting. 

The  church  meets  on  Friday  evening  as  we  have 
seen  for  social  worship,  older  people  preponderating 
(in  other  words,  the  Prayer-meeting);  and  it  meets 
again  on  Wednesday  evening  for  social  worship,  tlie 
young  people  preponderating  (in  other  words,  the 
Young  People's  meeting).  The  young  people's 
m.eeting  is  usually  held  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Young  People's  Society  for  Christian  Endeavor  or 
one  of  the  kindred  organizations,  the  Epworth 
League  and  the  Baptist  Young  People's  Union. 
The  Young  People's  Society  for  Christian  Endeavor 
is  a  vast  social  fact.  It  has  come  to  stay.  It  is 
an  organization  consisting  of  local  societies  distrib- 
uted throughout  the  community,  one  in  a  church. 
Its  personnel  consists  of  young  people.  Its  aims  are 
aggressively  religious,  its  motto  being  For  Christ 
and  the  Church. 

It  is  rather  late  in  the  day  to  discuss  the  advant- 
ages and  drawbacks  of  societies  within  the  local 
church.  Such  societies  exist,  and  they  will  remain. 
We  have  the  Sunday  school,  the  Sewing  Circle,  the 
Women's  Missionary  Society  and  so  on;  and  in 
almost  all  our  churches  the  young  people,  whether 
regularly  organized  or  not,  have  a  prayer-meeting 
of  their  own,  and  are  pervaded  by  a  strong  and  defi- 
nite consciousness  of  solidaritv. 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  145 

The  young  people's  societies  of  Christian  endeavor 
are  the  organic  expression  of  this  instinct.  Their 
founder,  the  Rev.  Dr.  F.  E.  Clark,  has  succeeded  in 
formulating  and  crystallizing  a  general  tendency. 
Almost  every  church  had  its  young  people's  meeting 
before  the  Society  for  Christian  Endeavor  had  ever 
been  heard  of.  Dr.  Clark  with  consummate  general- 
ship geared  these  forces  into  a  simple  and  workable 
form.  Tlie  origination  of  good  tendencies,  or  the 
reversal  of  foolish  or  vicious  trends  is  always  a  slow 
and  laborious  process,  but  to  transmute  into  social 
organisms  tendencies  already  existent  is  swift  and 
magical.  It  is  like  lighting  a  fuse.  This  is  the 
secret  of  the  marvellously  rapid  growth  of  the  Qiris- 
tian  Endeavor  movement. 

One  may  deplore  the  need  of  such  wheels 
within  the  wheel  of  the  local  church;  but  for 
all  that  such  a  need  exists.  A  society  organ- 
ized in  some  such  way  does  succeed  in  getting 
an  amount  of  work  out  of  the  young  people  which 
even  the  pastor's  faithful  preaching  fails  to  elicit. 
There  is  an  immense  supply  of  latent  force  in  each 
church  which  this  society  makes  available.  There 
are  many  young  men  in  our  churches  who,  like  Saul 
of  old,  are  hidden  among  the  stuff,  and  if  you  can 
only  once  get  them  straightened  out,  they  will  tower 
head  and  shoulders  above  their  fellows.  Tlie  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  Society  helps  to  bring  such  characters 
to  the  fore. 

The  forces  in  our  larger  churches  need  to  be 
mobilized  and  deployed.  The  members  are  too  hud- 
dled.    A  church  always  has  a  fierce  growth  at  the 


146  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

outset,  and  when  it  reaches  a  membership  of  three 
or  four  hundred,  it  becomes  top-heavy.  Like  an 
old-fashioned  tallow  dip,  the  longer  it  burns,  the 
dimmer  is  its  flame.  We  are  like  boys  who  are  try- 
ing to  make  a  huge  ball  out  of  the  moist  snow.  At 
first  the  round  mass  moves  easily  and  rapidly  over 
the  ground,  gathering  new  weight  at  every  turn. 
But  as  it  grows  large,  it  is  more  difficult  to  handle, 
it  moves  more  slowly  and  toilsomely,  until  at  last  it 
will  not  budge  another  inch.  Our  larger  churches 
exert  an  influence  in  the  community  in  no  wise  com- 
mensurate with  their  numerical  strength.  Hence 
the  need  within  the  church  itself  of  smaller  societies, 
which  shall  specialize  and  distribute  the  work  that 
ought  to  be  done,  and  so  utilize  the  energies  of  many 
of  our  members  who  are  now  standing  idle. 

While  all  this  may  be  said  in  favor  of  societies  on 
the  plan  of  Christian  Endeavor,  there  are  also  dan- 
gers to  be  vigilantly  guarded  against.  The  young 
people's  society  should  not  little  by  little  displace  in 
our  consciousness  the  church.  It  should  be  rigor- 
ously subsidiary  to  the  church.  Its  claims  should 
always  be  second  to  those  of  the  church.  It  is  said 
that  the  founder  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  Society 
felt  the  need  of  it  during  a  revival,  as  a  sort  of  half- 
way house  between  conversion  and  church  member- 
ship. But  the  tendency  is  that  the  people  remain 
at  the  half-way  house,  just  as  people  will  satisfy  their 
consciences  with  belonging  to  the  Sunday  school,  or 
the  congregation,  instead  of  joining  the  church. 
You  may  be  sure  that  if  human  nature  can  find  any 
way  to  Heaven  other  than  through  the  church  it  will 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  147 

take  that  road  every  time.  And  how  much  greater 
the  danger  becomes  if  the  church  members  come  to 
regard  tlie  young  people's  society  as  a  httle  church 
within  the  church,  and  make  its  claims  paramount. 

Many  minds  are  so  small  and  inelastic  that  they 
cannot  give  room  to  more  than  one  social  concept  at 
a  time.  In  such  cases  the  young  people's  society 
becomes  virtually  the  church.  There  are  so  many 
people  about,  who,  instead  of  taking  the  regular 
train,  like  to  run  a  little  engine  of  their  own.  An 
old  Scotch  professor  of  Hebrew,  while  a  pleasant 
companion  at  the  social  gatherings  in  the  university 
town,  used  to  be  very  quiet  and  uncommunicative  at 
home.  His  witty  wife  complained,  "  He  hangs  his 
fiddle  up  at  his  ain  door  when  he  comes  in,  for  we 
never  hear  a  scrape  o'  it."  And  so  we  have  Chris- 
tians who  are  full  of  animation  and  enthusiasm  in  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  or  the  Society 
for  Christian  Endeavor,  but  when  it  comes  to  the 
prayer-meeting  or  the  regular  routine  duties  of  their 
own  church,  they  are  limp  and  nerveless,  silent  and 
critical;  you  never  hear  a  scrape  of  their  fiddle. 

Other  objections  may  occur  to  the  mind.  The 
motives  animating  the  young  people's  meeting  are 
not  always  purely  religious.  The  enthusiasm  is 
sometimes  traceable  to  the  social  instinct  which  is 
naturally  strongest  at  the  pairing  season  of  life. 
Love  of  power  and  leadership  may  sometimes  enter 
in  as  a  motive  force.  Some  object  to  the  pledge; 
and  certainly  it  is  better  not  to  take  it  at  all  than  to 
take  it  and  not  keep  it.  The  club  spirit  sometimes 
prevails.     Your   society   becomes    a    little   coterie. 


148  THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

There  may  be  an  exclusive  atmosphere;  so  that  if 
you  try  to  use  the  society  as  a  missionary  force  with 
which  to  reach  the  lowest  classes  of  people,  you  will 
meet  with  remonstrance.  As  far  as  my  own  obser- 
vation goes,  the  local  society,  if  left  to  itself  is  not 
effectively  evangelistic.  The  young  Christians  have 
a  good  and  profitable  time,  but  very  few  unbelievers 
are  converted  and  brought  into  the  Qiurch  through 
the  instrumentality  of  the  society.  We  are  some- 
times reminded  of  a  child  on  a  rocking  horse,  about 
which  Rowland  Hill  remarked:  "  How  wondrously 
like  some  Christians!  there  is  motion  but  no  pro- 
gress." Christian  Endeavor  statistics  show  that 
thousands  of  associate  members  join  the  church. 
But  there  is  a  delicious  fallacy  in  all  that. 
The  question  is  whether  these  conversions  are 
due  to  the  efforts  of  the  society  rather  than 
to  the  preaching  services,  the  Sunday  school 
and  all  the  other  church  agencies  and  instru- 
mentalities which  are  brought  to  bear  upon  these 
same  people.  The  fact  that  we  are  alive  and  in  evi- 
dence at  the  time  when  certain  events  take  place 
does  not  necessarily  prove  that  we  brought  them 
about.  Complaint  is  made  that  the  annual  conven- 
tions are  too  large,  and  are  promotive  of  bumptious- 
ness; but  I  for  one  am  gratefully  susceptible  to  the 
enthusiasm  of  vast  assemblies.  They  have  great 
inspirational  value.  They  are  a  magnificent  testi- 
mony of  the  unity  of  Christendom.  The  showings 
in  many  of  our  churches  are  so  feeble  that  it  is  good 
strategy  for  us  once  in  a  while  to  mass  our  forces 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  149 

and  make  upon  the  outside  world  the  impression  of 
overwhehiiing  numbers. 

In  fact  it  is  easy  to  find  fault  with  anything  good. 
According  to  Emerson  it  is  harder  to  write  a  poor 
poem  than  the  finest  criticism  on  it.  Tlie  Society  is 
a  mighty  engine  for  good.  A  pastor  cannot  make 
a  greater  mistake  than  to  fall  out  of  sympathy  with 
his  young  people.  I  have  always  found  that  they 
respond  quickly  and  gratefully  to  the  pastor's  guid- 
ing touch.  Tlie  society  is  not  a  social  expression  of 
some  new-spun  theory.  It  was  produced  by  a  busy 
pastor  to  meet  an  exigency  in  the  life  of  his  own 
church.  Only  the  most  suspicious  nature  can  view  it 
as  a  menace  to  church  or  minister.  The  constitution 
itself  gives  the  pastor  the  controlling  voice  in  its 
councils.  It  is  his  own  fault  if  he  does  not  make 
good  use  of  this  burnished  weapon  which  Providence 
has  placed  in  his  hand.  The  solution  of  every  enigma 
will  be  found,  I  think,  in  the  conception  that  the 
young  people's  society,  as  well  as  the  Sunday  school, 
is  at  bottom  the  Church  itself,  geared  for  a  specific 
purpose.  Tlie  young  people's  meeting  is  the  Church 
itself  met  for  social  worship,  the  young  people  pre- 
ponderating; as  the  church  meets  on  another  evening 
of  the  week  for  social  worship,  the  older  people  pre- 
ponderating. To  emphasize  this  idea  the  pastor  of 
the  church,  the  president  of  the  society,  and  the 
leader  of  the  meeting  should  sit,  all  three  together, 
on  the  platform  during  the  service,  each  performing 
his  distinctive  function,  the  pastor  opening  the  wor- 
ship, the  leader  making  the  address,  and  the  presi- 
dent conducting  the  business  meeting  at  the  close. 


150  THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH. 

III.  Gospel  Meetings. 

Tlie  church,  as  we  have  seen,  meets  on  Friday 
evening  for  social  worship,  the  older  people  prepon- 
derating-, and  on  Wednesday  evening  for  social  wor- 
ship, the  young  people  preponderating.  This 
leaves  us  Monday,  Tuesday,  Thursday  and  Saturday 
evenings  for  what  we  call  Gospel  Meetings.  In  this 
way  we  have  nightly  worship  the  year  around.  The 
Gospel  Meeting  begins  with  a  sidezvalk  meeting. 
We  open  the  church  door  at  half-past  seven,  and, 
just  outside  we  sing  a  few  popular  gospel  hymns, 
generally  accompanied  by  a  cornet.  This  service 
lasts  till  eight.  By  this-  means  we  gather  about  the 
doorway  a  company  of  two  or  three  hundred  men, 
women  and  children.  They  help  us  on  the  choruses 
in  the  out-door  meeting.  At  the  close  of  this  meet- 
ing we  adjourn  inside  and  heartily  invite  all  to  come 
in  "  just  as  they  are.''  In  this  way  we  easily  fill  our 
room  every  night.  People  will  enter  a  church  door 
in  a  throng  who  would  never  have  the  hardihood  to 
make  such  a  venture  in  cold  blood  and  alone. 

We  then  have  an  informal  gospel  meeting  inside, 
having  the  door  open  during  the  singing  and  closed 
during  prayer,  reading  and  remarks.  Such  a  meeting 
seems  to  go  itself.  You  need  a  leader,  a  pianist,  an 
usher  and  two  warm-hearted  able-bodied  men  just 
outside  the  door  to  invite  the  passers-by  to  come  in. 
We  usually  have  a  short  prayer,  a  few  words  of 
Scripture,  and  addresses  of  five  or  ten  minutes  by 
the  leader,  and  brief  testimonies,  interspersed  with 
plenty  of  cheerful  singing.     This  meeting  we  have 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  151 

found  especially  effective  in  summer.  A  good  many 
are  converted,  and  those  imused  to  church  find  their 
way  into  the  place  of  prayer.  Helpers  will  come  to 
you  from  other  churches  where  there  is  no  daily  ser- 
vice, for  every  church  has  some  restless  spirits  that 
want  to  go  to  meeting  somewhere  every  night.  And 
these  Gospel  Meetings  we  find  the  best  opportuni- 
ties of  reaching  with  the  gospel  the  fallen  and  the 
intemperate. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH  AND  THE  POOR. 

I.  Duty. 

The  churches  distributed  through  a  community 
form  the  most  perfect  philanthropic  machine  which 
the  human  mind  can  possibly  conceive  of,  for  clean- 
ing up  the  poverty  and  despair  of  mankind,  if  only 
each  church  felt  responsibility  for  the  misery  that 
presses  against  her  from  every  side,  and  would 
patiently  and  thoughtfully  bend  over  the  problem  of 
befriending  and  helping,  in  the  wisest  possible  way, 
the  lost  and  fallen  and  perishing  in  her  immediate 
entourage  —  old  people,  little  children,  the  unem- 
ployed, the  sick,  all  who  suffer.  She  can  do  much 
herself  directly,  and  more  still,  by  delicate  and  sym- 
pathetic mediation  between  the  poor  and  the  vast 
organized  charities  that  exist  for  their  relief.  Even 
the  old  Judaism  was  animated  by  a  philanthropic 
spirit.    How  beautiful  and  pathetic  the  ancient  rule : 


152  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

And  when  ye  reap  the  harvest  of  your  land,  thou  shall 
not  zvholly  reap  the  corners  of  thy  field,  neither  shalt 
thou  gather  the  gleanings  of  thy  harvest.  And  thou 
shall  not  glean  thy  vineyard,  neither  shalt  thou  gather 
every  grape  of  thy  vineyard;  thou  shalt  leave  them  for 
the  poor  and  stranger:  I  am  the  Lord  your  God. 
Christ  reproduced  the  old  lesson  with  fresh  beauty 
and  impressiveness  in  the  parable  of  the  Good 
Samaritan.  He  teaches  the  grace  of  neighborliness. 
Love  and  pity  constitute  eternal  life.  To  love  is  to 
live.  The  same  law  of  love  He  states  in  simplest, 
unforgetable  phrase:  Give  to  him  that  asketh  of  thee. 
Not  that  we  should  interpret  His  saying  in  an  indo- 
lent and  literal  vvay.  It  is  not  a  rule,  He  gives  us, 
but  a  principle.  He  does  not  mean  that  we  should 
pass  by  the  shy  and  silent  sufiferers  that  do  not  ask, 
or  that  we  should  violate  the  spirit  of  His  own 
Golden  Rule  by  giving  people  what  they  ask  for, 
without  regard  to  their  real  welfare.  He  would  not 
have  us  give  alms  to  the  clamorous  impostor,  or 
rum  to  the  drunkard,  or  the  gleaming  razor  to  an 
infant,  or  the  rope  to  a  suicide.  Infidels  like  to 
crowd  us  into  the  absurdities  of  intense  literalism. 
Christ  simply  states  in  concrete  form,  the  law  of 
love.  Were  He  in  the  flesh  on  earth  to-day,  I  cannot 
but  believe  that  He  would  be  a  friend  to  wise  and 
discriminate  charity. 

The  early  church  followed  in  the  steps  of  her 
Master  in  ministering  to  the  poor.  During  the  per- 
secution of  the  Christians  in  the  third  century,  under 
the  Emperor  Valerian,  the  rapacious  Roman  Prefect 
demanded  of  the  young  arch-deacon,  Laurentius,  to 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH.  153 

be  shown  the  treasures  of  the  church.  "  These  are 
our  treasures,"  repHed  the  arch-deacon,  pointing  to 
a  great  multitude  of  widows,  orphans,  bHnd,  lame 
and  sick,  who  were  under  the  care  of  the  church. 
The  answer  cost  him  his  life.  He  was  slowly  roasted 
alive  in  an  iron  chair. 

The  churches  of  our  own  day  are  not  only  under 
obligation  to  provide  commodious  places  where  peo- 
ple may  assemble  to  hear  the  Gospel.  It  is  their  duty 
to  imitate  the  Master  who  went  about  doing  good. 
Our  main  work,  I  concede,  is  in  the  realm  of  motive 
and  character,  rather  than  of  environment.  The 
objective  point  should  always  be  the  relief  of  spiritual 
need.  Chalmers  has  truly  said  that  character  is  the 
parent  of  comfort.  Unless  there  be  a  substratum  of 
character,  the  relief  you  extend  is  of  little  avail.  You 
are  building  a  roadbed  through  a  bottomless  swamp. 
"  Why  does  your  father  go  around  begging,  instead 
of  working?  "  said  an  old  gentleman  to  a  little  boy. 
"  He  begs  so  he  can  get  money  to  buy  whiskey,"  was 
the  reply.  **  But  why  does  he  drink  whiskey?" 
*'  Oh,"  said  the  little  boy,  "  so  he  can  get  up  courage 
to  go  around  and  beg."  This  is  a  vicious  circle, 
indeed,  but  it  is  the  history  of  many  a  life.  Without 
a  change  of  character  there  can  be  no  permanent 
amelioration  of  circumstance.  All  evil  has  a  moral 
root;  and  with  this  religion  has  to  do. 

But  a  man  will  not  listen  to  the  good  news  when 
he  is  in  pain.  To  believe  in  God,  he  must  first  learn 
to  believe  in  man.  He  that  loveth  not  his  brother  whom 
he  hath  seen,  hozv  can  he  love  God  zuhoni  he  hath  not 
seen.     "  It  is  one  of  the  secrets,"  profoundly  writes 


154  THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

George  Eliot,  "  in  that  change  of  mental  poise  which 
has  been  fitly  named  Conversion,  that  to  many 
among  us,  neither  heaven  nor  earth  has  any  revela- 
tion, till  some  personality  touches  theirs  with  a  pecu- 
liar influence,  subduing  them  into  receptiveness." 
Kindness  subdues  the  heart  into  receptiveness  for 
the  Gospel.  A  creature  in  pain  is  slow  to  perceive 
the  Fatherhood  of  God.  An  atmosphere  of  practical 
friendliness  in  church  disposes  the  sad  to  look  for 
comfort  to  Christ.  An  eminent  Socialist  writes:  "  I 
lay  awake  and  pondered.  I  pondered  over  this  — 
what  lever  was  there,  by  which  we  could  move  the 
working  classes.  I  found  it  at  last,  and,  when 
I  beheld  it,  a  shudder  ran  over  me.  For 
the  name  of  that  lever  is  Despair.''  If  in  the 
midst  of  the  misery  that  pervades  the  slums 
of  our  great  town,  the  church  proves  to  be  a  com- 
forting force,  the  sad  averted  gaze  of  the  working- 
man  will  turn  instinctively  towards  the  cross.  The 
task  is  a  difBcult  one.  The  insoluble  problems  of  the 
day  are  social  rather  than  theological.  We  seem  held 
in  the  grip  of  great  industrial  laws  that  crush  us  at 
their  will.  You  cannot  start  a  kindling-wood  busi- 
ness to  employ  your  poor,  without  killing  out  around 
you  little  dealers,  whose  financial  well-being  is  as 
precarious  as  that  of  the  apple-woman,  who  took  in 
a  bad  dollar,  and  thereby  broke  up  her  business. 
You  cannot  employ  a  poor  starving  man  to  do  a 
little  painting  or  carpentry  for  you  without  collision 
with  the  workingmen's  unions.  Every  tide  of  good 
has  its  undertow  of  evil.  At  last  we  are  ready  to 
say:     "Let  me  do  a  little  good,  make  something 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  155 

happy,  when  and  while  I  can;  our  poor  short  Hves 
cannot  pretend  to  compete  with  the  huge  infinitude 
of  evil." 

II.  General  Spirit. 

The  Good  Samaritan  is  the  model  philanthropist 
That  parable  is  humanity's  best  classic,  as  regards 
doing  good. 

1.  Christian  Philanthropy  is  observant.  It  is  quick 
to  see  the  unquiet  look,  the  quivering  lip,  the  cheek 
whitened  with  pain  or  fear.  It  does  not  steal  past 
sufTfering  on  tiptoe.  It  stops  to  ask  the  sympathetic 
question;  as  Joseph,  himself  schooled  in  sorrow, 
observed  the  haggard  faces  of  his  fellow-prisoners, 
after  their  night  of  troubled  dreams,  and  said: 
Wherefore  look  ye  so  sadly  to-day?  Sympathy  is 
not  quick  to  shift  the  burden  of  service  to  others' 
shoulders. 

2.  But  to  observe  and  report  is  not  enough.  Some 
have  the  journalistic  instinct  and  can  describe  the 
miseries  of  the  poor  in  lurid  colors;  but  one  must 
be  constructive  and  remedial.  The  Good  Samaritan 
was  prompt  in  administering  relief.  With  his  extem- 
porized surgical  bandages  he  quickly  stanched  the 
blood  that  was  flowing  rapidly  away  —  a  fine  lesson 
in  First  Aid  to  the  Injured. 

3.  He  was  praetieal.  He  did  not  stop  to  spin  out 
some  theory  for  the  abolition  of  poverty  and  pain 
by  legislative  sleight-of-hand.  Some  people  seem 
to  feel  that  if  they  praise  a  virtue  they  possess  it,  and 
if  they  condemn  a  vice,  they  are  without  it;  and  if 
they  write  an  article  in  favor  of  endowing  churches, 


156  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

that  they  have  endowed  a  half  a  dozen.  The  Rev. 
Samuel  A.  Barnett,  who  has  worked  many  years 
among  the  poor  of  London,  said :  "  If  to-morrow 
every  one  who  cares  for  the  poor  would  become  the 
friend  of  one  poor  person, —  forsaking  all  others, — 
there  would  be  no  insoluble  problem  of  the  unem- 
ployed, and  London  would  be  within  a  measureable 
distance  of  being  a  city  of  happy  homes." 

"  In  Life's  small  things  be  resolute  and  great, 

To  keep  thy  muscle  trained.     Knowest  thou  when   Fate 

Thy  measure  takes;  or  when  She'll  say  to  thee, 

I  find  thee  worthy;  do  this  deed  for  me?" 

■  4.  The  true  philanthropist  is  personal  in  his  kind- 
ness. He  is  not  content  to  do  good  by  proxy,  or  to 
organize  some  social  machinery  for  the  cure  of  ill. 
''  When  I  was  in  the  bondage  of  sin,"  wrote  St. 
Francis  of  Assisi,  "  it  was  bitter  to  me  and  loathsome 
to  see  and  look  upon  persons  infected  with  leprosy; 
but  that  blessed  Lord  brought  me  among  them,  and 
I  did  mercy  with  them,  and,  I  departing  from  them, 
what  before  seemed  bitter  and  loathsome  was  turned 
and  changed  to  me  into  great  sweetness  and  com- 
fort, both  of  body  and  soul." 

5.  The  Good  Samaritan  was  persistent.  Count 
how  often  the  conjunction  and  occurs  in  the  parable. 
It  may  be  called  the  Parable  of  the  Holy  And.  When 
you  once  begin  to  do  good,  there  is  no  getting 
through  with  it.  Once  involved,  you  are  led  from 
step  to  step  of  sacrifice.  Human  nature  is  so  unrea- 
sonable, that  if  you  give  a  man  a  good  meal,  it  is 
just  like  him  to  go  of¥  and  get  hungry  again.  Tliere 
is  no  end  to  doing  good.    Countless  difficulties  beset 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  157 

your  path.  Once  be  reputed  a  philanthropist,  and 
you  will  find  unworthy  applicants  thronging  upon 
you  from  every  side.  They  give  you  no  time  to 
search  out  silent  and  more  poignant  suffering.  And 
then  you  are  in  danger  of  impairing  a  man's  self- 
respect  when  you  help  him.  He  at  once  lies  down 
on  you  full  length,  and  is  only  angry  with  you  when 
your  resources  are  exhausted.  Your  very  kindness 
prevents  his  learning  the  lesson  of  self-dependence, 
which  is  so  clearly  set  forth  in  the  lines  of  Heine : 

"  They  gave  me  advice  and  counsel  in  store, 
Praised  me  and  honored  me  more  and  more; 
Said  that  I  only  should  wait  awhile, 
Offered  their  patronage,  too,  with  a  smile." 

"  But  with  all  their  honor  and  approbation, 
I  should,  long  ago,  have  died  of  starvation, 
Had  there  not  come  an  excellent  man, 
Who  bravely  to  help  me  along  began." 

"Good  fellow!  —  he  got  me  the  food  I  ate. 

His  kindness  and  care  I  shall  never  forget; 

Yet  I  cannot  embrace  him  —  though  other  folks  can. 

For  I  myself  am  this  excellent  man." 

There  are  few  indeed  that  can  be  helped,  except  at 
the  cost  of  their  own  manHness,  and  fewer  still  that 
are  capable  of  gratitude.  It  was  said  of  one  of  the 
Presidents  of  the  United  States:  *'  Tliere  Were  times 
when  twenty  men  applied  for  the  same  ofhce,  and 
after  he  had  reached  a  selection,  he  found  that  he  had 
made  nineteen  enemies  and  one  ingrate."  In  fact  so 
hard  is  it  to  find  a  person  both  poor  and  indubitably 
worthy,  that  we  count  such  a  case  a  vcrital)le 
bonanza.     You  might  as  well  expect  lightning  to 


158  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

strike  twice  in  the  same  spot.  People  will  come  to 
church  just  for  what  they  can  get,  and,  coming  with 
this  motive,  will  fail  to  appropriate  spiritual  good. 
Comparatively  few  churches  as  yet  being  engaged  in 
systematic  charity,  the  poor  will  stream  in  upon  you 
from  other  churches  around  you.  Your  friends,  per- 
ceiving your  philanthropic  disposition,  will  help  you 
by  unloading  on  you  their  poor  relations;  so  that, 
by  and  by,  you  become  like  a  sinking  life-boat  into 
which  despairing  passengers  continue  to  throw  them- 
selves long  after  it  is  crowded  full.  Noisy  and  clam- 
orous impostors  press  in  between  you  and  the  shy, 
unobtrusive  sufferers  whom  you  would  fain  reach; 
just  as  when  an  English  naturalist  undertook  to  feed 
birds  in  his  garden  during  the  famine  of  winter,  he 
observed  that  when  he  threw  the  food  down,  the 
obstreperous  sparrows  were  at  once  in  the  middle  of 
it,  and  not  eating,  as  other  birds  do,  with  a  peck  and 
a  start,  but  gobbling,  zvolfing;  while  the  blackbird 
and  thrush  and  chaffinch  came  timidly  forward,  only 
to  find  that  every  crumb  had  been  swallowed.  Many 
of  the  choicer  birds  die  simply  from  timidity.  Indeed 
so  many  difficulties  Itaunt  the  steps  of  him  who  goes 
about  doing  good  that  nothing  but  the  constraining 
love  of  Christ  will  prove  an  adequate  motive.  Phil- 
anthropic work  seems  often  only  a  series  of  disillu- 
sions. There  are  many  who  are  ready  to  launch 
benevolent  enterprises;  very  few  who  may  be 
depended  upon  to  maintain  them.  Beginning  is 
poetry;  continuance  is  prose.  Then  one  is  pressed 
down  with  the  sense  of  the  overwhelming  mass  of 
wretchedness, 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  159 

"  The  fierce  confederate  storm 
Of  sorrow  barricadoed  evermore 
Within  the  walls  of  cities." 

The  most  strenuous  benevolence  seems  like  a  drop 
of  sweetness  in  a  bitter  ocean.  We  seem  to  hear 
Satan's  sneer  whispered  into  the  ear  of  Faust,  who  is 
torn  with  anguish  over  the  ruined  Margaret:  Die 
ist  die  erste  nicht.  The  chill  mist  of  despair  rises  and 
gathers  round  the  heart,  and  we  are  ready  to  cry  out ; 
IVJw  zuill  show  lis  any  good.  Tlie  only  cure  for  this 
is  quiet  persistence  in  doing  the  small  definite  task 
of  consolation  that  offers  itself,  leaving  all  thought  of 
result  to  God. 

6.  Again,  the  Good  Samaritan  is  thrifty  and 
business-like  in  his  beneficence.  He  counts  out  two 
pence  —  two  days  wages  —  and  reckons  that  this 
will  meet  the  requirements  of  the  case.  He  does  not 
in  a  gush  of  compassion  overdo  the  matter,  emptying 
his  purse  and  leaving  nothing  for  other  needy  cases. 
There  is  a  kind  of  New  England  flavor  about  the 
Good  Samaritan.  One  feels  sure  that  he  would  not 
let  himself  be  imposed  upon,  but  that  he  w^ould  do 
good  in  the  most  intelligent  and  scientific  way. 
Were  he  living  now,  I  doubt  not  that  he  would  be  a 
friend  and  contributor  to  the  Charity  Organization. 

7.  And  finally,  he  was  disinterested.  He-  could 
expect  nothing  in  return.  The  Jew  would  forever  be 
ashamed  to  own  that  he  had  been  helped  by  a  Samari- 
tan. We  must  do  good  for  sweet  charity's  own 
sake.  While  in  the  end  wholesale,  persistent  and 
systematic  kindness  will  conciliate  a  comnninity 
and  soften  hearts  for  the  reception  of  the  truth,  you 


l6o  THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH. 

will  not  find  that  the  individuals  you  relieve  will,  in 
many  cases,  come  to  your  church.  They  do  not  like 
to  revisit  the  scenes  of  their  shame  and  suffering. 
They  will  make  themselves  scarce  in  your  neighbor- 
hood. Do  not  befriend  the  poor  just  to  draw  them 
into  your  church.  Are  you  kind  to  a  horse,  because 
you  expect  him  to  join  your  church?  Do  good  for 
its  own  dear  sake.  A  business  man  who  advertises 
his  goods  on  a  large  scale,  does  not  make  himself 
miserable  by  inquiring  too  curiously  into  the  definite 
visible  results  achieved  through  any  single  adver- 
tisement. 

III.  Practical  Methods. 

Having  considered  the  duty  of  Christian  philan- 
thropy, and  its  general  character,  let  us  glance  at 
some  practical  methods  of  doing  good.  These  will 
vary  with  the  needs  of  different  fields.  One  should 
be  careful  not  to  try  to  cover  ground  that  is  already 
as  well  or  better  covered  by  somebody  else.  You 
will  see  people,  at  great  expense  opening  a  library  in 
a  part  of  the  city  where  there  are  already  plenty  of 
libraries  clamoring  for  people  to  come  and  read  the 
books.  A  church  will  see  another  church  near  by 
maintaining  a  successful  kindergarten  or  class  in  gym- 
nastics for  zi'onien,  and  it  will  proceed  at  once  to  try 
to  do  likewise;  not  thinking  that  it  will  hurt  the  other 
church  and  probably  fail  itself,  because  it  is  propos- 
ing to  meet  a  want  that  is  already  met.  The  better 
way  is  to  ask  oneself  the  question:  What  physical, 
mental,  or  social  needs  are  there  in  this  community 
that  no  one  else  is  trying  intelligently  to  satisfy? 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH.  lOl 

Is  there  any  good  side  of  life  that  is  falHng  into  neg- 
lect? Here  lies  your  opportunity.  People  discover, 
to  their  surprise,  that  the  church  is  their  friend,  and 
cares  for  their  comfort  and  well  being. 

(i.)  With  us  there  are  certain  kinds  of  systematic 
relief  that  are  in  operation  all  the  year  through. 

(a.)  The  Dispensary.  It  is  open  daily  at  half-past 
twelve.  We  have  seven  physicians.  Male  and 
female  doctors  come  on  alternate  days.  The  physi- 
cians treat  the  patients  free  of  charge.  We  have  no 
rent  to  pay,  as  the  rooms  of  the  dispensary  are  in  our 
church  building.  We  buy  our  drugs  at  wholesale, 
and  the  medicines  are  compounded  in  the  dispensary. 
Patients  are  charged  ten  cents  a  prescription,  if  they 
are  able  to  pay.  During  the  last  twelve  months  we 
had  7,125  visits,  and  2,952  new  patients. 

(b.)  Employment  Bureau.  Every  day  at  two 
o'clock  we  meet  the  poor  at  the  church,  and  there 
is  a  lady  who  gives  her  attention  to  securing  situa- 
tions for  those  who  are  out  of  work. 

(c.)  Penny  Provident  Fund.  Children  are  encour- 
aged to  lay  up  small  sums  of  money,  and  thus  habits 
of  thrift  are  formed. 

2.  We  have  a  system  also  of  Winter  Relief. 

The  sufferings  of  the  poor  are  greatest  during  the 
extreme  heat  of  summer  and  during  the  winter 
months.  The  discomfort  of  the  former  they  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent  mitigate  by  staying  in  the 
streets  or  on  the  house-tops  the  best  part  of  the  night. 
But  the  biting  cold  of  winter  often  places  them  in  a 
position  from  which  they  cannot  extricate  them- 
selves unaided.     It  is  during  the  coldest  months  of 


1 62  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

the  year  that  there  is  the  least  work  to  be  found, 
the  season  of  all  others  when  the  cost  of  living  is 
greatest. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  the  Church  aims  to  aid  the 
worthy  poor  especially  at  these  times.  In  the  sum- 
mer, through  our  Fresh-Air  Charities,  and  in  the 
winter,  through  various  kinds  of  work. 

(a.)  The  Church,  being  kept  open  almost  con- 
stantly from  eight  in  the  morning  until  ten  at  night, 
situated  as  it  is  on  a  busy  thoroughfare,  needs  to  be 
frequently  swept,  dusted,  scrubbed,  and  cleaned. 
This  forms  an  immediate  source  of  work  for  the  appli- 
cants for  relief.  One  cold  day  last  winter  eighteen 
persons,  several  of  whom  represented  families,  were 
so  employed.  We  reserve  the  right  to  pay  in  meals, 
lodgings,  groceries,  fuel,  shoes,  or  elothing  rather  than 
in  money.  Should  the  applicant  be  too  ill  or  weak  to 
work,  medical  treatment  is  given  in  the  dispensary, 
and  food  and  lodgings  are  temporarily  supplied.  At 
the  same  time  we  make  every  effort  to  get  the  man 
or  woman  permanent  work.  A  man  can  earn  in  a 
few  hours  enough  to  keep  his  family  for  one  day,  and 
so  has  the  rest  of  the  day  in  which  to  look  for  work, 
for  a  man  can  get  work  for  himself  better  than  any 
one  can  get  work  for  him. 

(b.)  The  Mothers'  Meeting  is  a  source  of  great  help 
and  encouragement  to  many  poor  mothers.  They 
come  to  the  Church  once  a  week  for  three  hours  to 
sew,  and  each  is  credited  for  her  work  with  thirty 
cents,  receiving  the  value  of  the  money  in  groeeries 
at  wholesale  prices,  or  in  the  clothing  made  at  the 
meeting.    The  women  ar^  more  or  less  free  to  choose 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH.  163 

the  garments  they  make,  and  it  is  pathetic  to  observe 
the  eagerness  with  which  some  of  them  ask  for  sheets 
and  pillowsHps.  As  a  mother  represents  a  whole 
family,  we  have  found  that  the  Mothers'  Meeting 
has  tided  over  many  people  at  the  hardest  time  in 
the  year. 

(c.)  Many  women  cannot  leave  their  little  ones  in 
order  to  work  away  from  home.  In  such  cases  we 
give  or  try  to  secure  sewing  or  mending  for  them  to 
do  at  home. 

(d.)  Over  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  little  girls 
come  to  our  Sewing  School  on  Saturday  mornings, 
and  while,  of  course,  the  teachers  perform  this  minis- 
try as  a  labor  of  love,  yet  the  materials  out  of  which 
these  poor  children  learn  to  make  their  own  gar- 
ments have  to  be  provided  at  considerable  cost.  I 
am  sure  your  heart  would  ache,  as  mine  has,  if  you 
could  be  present  at  our  Sewing  School  on  some  cold 
morning,  and  see  how  thinly  clad  are  these  daughters 
of  the  poor  —  how  ill-prepared  to  face  the  bitter 
cold  of  winter.  We  have  introduced  the  Pratt  In- 
stitute system  of  sewing,  the  children  beginning 
with  the  simplest  stitches  and  gradually  achieving 
the  more  elaborate  needlework. 

(e.)  There  are  many  who  apply  for  relief  who  have 
never  done  laborious  work,  who  have,  perhaps,  not 
the  strength  to  do  it.  These  we  attempt  to  help  in 
other  ways  more  suited  to  their  needs  and  abilities, 
such  as  folding  tracts  and  circulars,  addressing  envel- 
opes, teaching  a  class  in  the  Sewing  School,  singing 
in  our  chorus  choir,  etc.  So  that  they  may  make 
some  return,  however  inadequate,  for  the  aid  given. 


164  THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH. 

(f.)  By  means  of  classes  in  Stenography,  in  Sing- 
ing, in  Gymnastics,  and  in  scientific  Sewing,  we 
endeavor  to  teach  the  poor  to  do  a  higher  and  more 
hicrative  kind  of  work.  It  is  astonishing  how  much 
of  this  institutional  work  a  church  can  accompHsh 
with  even  a  small  expenditure  of  money,  provided 
the  work  is  wisely  directed.  She  lends  her  guiding 
and  inspiring  influence,  gives  the  use  of  her  light, 
airy  rooms,  and  teaches  the  people  how  to  co-oper- 
ate. The  best  of  instructors  and  appliances  can  be 
secured,  and  a  large  part  of  the  expense  is  met  by 
small  nightly  fees,  which  even  the  poor,  if  they  are 
intelligent  and  enterprising,  are  able  and  willing  to 
pay. 

(g.)  You  will  see  that  the  work  is  guided  by  cer- 
tain principles: 

Every  encouragement  to  co-operate  is  afforded 
to  the  poor. 

An  equivalent  in  work  is  required,  as  far  as 
possible,  for  all  help  rendered. 

Relief  is  given,  as  far  as  can  be,  in  food,  or 
clothing,  or  fuel,  and  other  necessaries  of  life,  instead 
of  in  money. 

We  try  to  know  in  their  homes  the  people 
whom  we  help,  and  apply  our  relief  mainly  to  women 
and  children,  and  men  with  families,  rather  than  to 
broken-down  and  vagrant  men  who  have  only  them- 
selves to  provide  for,  and  wdiom  we  often  aid  by 
means  of  the  wood-yard  of  the  Qiarity  Organization. 

We  endeavor  to  bring  those  that  suffer  within 
reach  of  the  different  forms  of  organized  charity 
which  we  have  here  in  New  York.    The  Church  can 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH.  165 

perform  in  this  way  the  important  office  of  mediator. 
MilHons  of  dollars  are  invested  in  organized  charity, 
but  often  the  individual  sufferer  does  not  know  of 
the  relief  which  was  intended  for  his  case,  and  com- 
ing to  us,  is  put  in  the  way  of  availing  himself  of 
that  relief. 

It  is  a  peculiarity  of  this  part  of  the  city  that  it 
contains  so  many  respectable  people  who  were  once 
well-to-do,  but  have  gradually  sunk,  in  spite  of  every 
struggle,  into  poverty,  and  are  hidden  away  in  fur- 
nished rooms,  for  which  they  pay  usually  an  exor- 
bitant rent.  Such  misery  is  none  the  less  poignant 
because  it  is  silent  and  unobtrusive  —  making  no 
outcry,  but  reveaUng  itself  only  to  the  touch  of 
thoughtful  and  discriminating  kindness  and  sym- 
pathy. You  would,  I  am  sure,  be  touched  by  the 
many  cases  of  which  I  could  tell  you  where  people 
have  been  helped  by  us  in  some  heart-rending  crisis, 
and  have  afterward  recovered  themselves  and  found 
employment,  and  in  some  instances  have  paid  back 
the  money  we  had  given  them. 

3.  The  work  of  Summer  Relict  has  peculiar  interest 
and  fascination  — 

(a.)  Fresh  Air  for  Children.  To  the  great  bulk 
of  the  population  of  our  city  the  thought  of  summer 
brings  no  pleasing  outlook.  Their  cramped  and  ill- 
ventilated  quarters,  swarming  with  restless  and  suf- 
fering children,  make  the  burdens  of  poor  mothers 
almost  unbearable.  They  hail  with  delight  any 
proposition  to  send  the  children  into  the  country  for 
two  weeks  or  more.  ''  It'll  be  such  a  relief  to  have 
'em  all  gone  to  oust !  "  a  tired  mother  said  last  sum- 


1 66  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

mer.  "  Oh,  I  wish  I  could  stay  in  the  country  all 
summer!  I  hate  horrid  old  New  York,"  said  a  child 
who  was  returning  from  a  two  weeks'  vacation. 
"  The  janitor  says,  '  Keep  out  of  the  yard! '  and,  '  Get 
off  the  steps ! '  and  there's  nothing  to  do  but  run  in 
the  hot  old  streets."  The  heat  of  last  summer 
brought  out  a  skin  affection,  which  was  slightly  con- 
tagious, and  prevented  the  going  away  of  many  poor 
children.  One  little  boy  from  a  family  af^icted  with 
this  trouble  came  to  the  church  one  day,  and  holding 
out  his  hands  for  inspection,  said  to  the  woman  in 
charge  of  the  summer  work:  ''  Please,  can't  I  go?  I 
ain't  got  no  '  spots.'  "  He  went  mournfully  home 
when  his  request  was  refused,  and  said  to  his  mother, 
"  I  can't  go  to  school  again  until  I  have  seen  the 
country."  Unfortunately,  all  of  his  brothers  were 
not  entirely  well  until  school  had  commenced,  and 
he  missed  his  vacation  in  the  country. 

For  such  children  and  for  the  mothers  with  little 
ones  there  are  excursions  to  Coney  Island  or  Rock- 
away  for  the  day.  Many  a  sick  baby  has  been 
brought  into  the  dispensary,  apparently  almost  dead, 
but  two  or  three  "  ocean  trips,"  together  with  the 
proper  nourishment  and  medicines,  have  worked 
wonders,  and  the  children  have  recovered,  to  the 
surprise  of  every  one.  Some  children  look  forward 
to  their  country  trip  as  the  time  when  they  will  get 
three  full  meals  in  one  day  —  a  very  rare  experience 
in  their  lives. 

(b.)  Fresh  Air  for  the  Aged  Sick  and  Disabled. 
Mrs.  George  E.  Crowell,  of  Battleboro,  has  for  sev- 
eral years  put  at  our  disposal  a  beautiful  cottage.     It 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  167 

is  situated  in  a  park  of  thirty  acres,  overlooking  the 
Connecticut  river,  and  environed  by  the  Green 
jMountains.  Here  we  keep  for  the  summer  the  chil- 
dren in  our  little  Church  Home  for  Children;  and 
in  addition,  for  periods  varying  according  to  their 
needs,  aged  women,  the  convalescent  from  our  dis- 
pensary, as  well  as   overworked   shop-girls. 

(c.)  Cool  Water.  Around  our  cold-z^'atcr  fountain 
on  very  hot  days  stands  a  crowd  that  frequently  so 
blocks  the  corner  that  passers-by  are  compelled  to 
step  into  the  street.  French,  Italian,  Irish,  Ameri- 
cans, and  negroes  touch  shoulder.  Some  drink  from 
the  tin  cups  which  hang  by  the  basin,  but  many 
come  with  pitchers  and  pails  to  carry  the  sparkling 
water  home  for  dinner  or  supper.  One  little  colored 
girl  came  almost  every  day  last  summer  over  ten 
blocks  to  carry  a  pailful  home  for  dinner.  "  Give  me 
your  pail  while  I  go  and  get  some  beer,"  a  workman 
was  heard  to  say  to  his  companion.  ''No:  go  to 
the  corner  and  get  some  water;  it's  colder,"  the  other 
replied.  The  poor  cannot  afford  to  buy  ice;  and 
even  wdien  it  is  given  to  them  in  case  of  sickness, 
the  only  receptacle  they  have  for  it  is  a  dish-pan. 
There  is  in  the  basement  of  the  Church  a  box  large 
enough  to  hold  two  tons  of  ice.  The  ice  rests  upon 
a  coil  of  pipe  several  hundred  feet  long,  through 
which  flows  filtered  Croton  water.  Only  once  last 
summer  did  the  ice  entirely  melt  before  morning. 
During  the  torrid  heat  of  last  August  groups  of  men 
and  women  were  seen  around  the  fountain  until  after 
midnight.  One  woman,  who  lived  with  her  husband 
in  a  furnished  room  eight  feet  by  nine,  said  that  the 


1 68  THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH. 

only  way  they  could  get  to  sleep  was  to  take  home 
some  of  the  ice-water,  and  dipping  cloths  in  it,  bind 
the  cool  compresses  on  their  foreheads.  During  six 
months  the  fountain  supplies  the  passers-by  with 
cool  water  ranging  in  temperature  from  40°  to  48° 
Fahr. —  cool  enough  to  be  pleasant  to  the  taste,  and  yet 
not  so  cold  as  to  he  injurious  to  the  health.  No  one 
who  sees  the  thirsty  crowds  who  are  refreshed  by  it 
can  doubt  that  the  fountain  is  a  great  benefit  to  our 
densely-populated  neighborhood. 

(d.)  Flozver  Mission.  We  have  also  a  Flower 
Mission  in  connection  with  our  summer  work. 
Hardly  a  day  passed  last  summer  that  one  or  more 
boxes  of  flowers  were  not  received  from  suburban 
towns.  These  were  distributed  among  the  sick  in  the 
dispensary,  those  confined  to  their  beds  in  tenements, 
and  in  the  hospital  wards.  The  workers  who  carried 
the  flowers  into  the  streets  were  frequently  almost 
mobbed,  and  were  chased  for  blocks  by  crowds  of 
children  crying,  **  Please  give  me  a  flower!  "  *'  Oh, 
missus,  give  me  a  flower!  "  One  day  one  held  open 
her  box,  showing  only  broken  flowers  and  rose 
petals  left.  "  Won't  you  give  me  the  leaves, 
teacher?  "  "  What  will  you  do  with  them?  "  she 
asked.  **  I  put  'em  in  a  book,  and  they  come  out 
faces  sometimes,  and  they  smell  sweet,"  the  child 
answered,  as  she  put  her  face  down  to  the  handful  of 
fragrant  rose  leaves.  "  Them  yellow  flowers  don't 
smell  sweet,  but  they're  like  sunshine.  They  kinder 
make  your  heart  glad,"  said  an  old  woman  who 
received  a  bunch  of  yellow  daisies. 

Tliese  are  some  of  the  ways  in  which  the  Institu- 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  1 69 

tional  Church  may  work  among  the  poor.  Other 
forms  of  philanthropy  are  described  in  the  chapters 
on  tJic  Institutional  Church  and  Children,  and  the 
Institutional  Church  and  Young  Men. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH  AND  CHILDREN. 

The  key  to  the  solution  of  the  hard  problem  of 
city  evangelization  lies  in  the  puny  hand  of  the  little 
child.  Who  has  not  stood  aghast  and  felt  in  despair 
as  he  has  stopped  in  one  of  our  thoroughfares  and 
watched  the  great  tide  of  foreigners  streaming 
ashore  from  some  emigrant-ship  —  alien  men, 
women  and  children,  chattering  in  a  strange  lan- 
guage, and  bearing  uncouth  burdens  on  their  heads 
and  shoulders!  They  have  come  to  stay.  In  solid 
phalanx  they  take  possession  of  wide  stretches  of  our 
city.  They  form  an  impregnable  mass  of  humanity 
swayed  by  un-American  and  un-evangelical  ideas 
and  habits,  at  the  mercy  either  of  sacramentarianism 
or  materialism.  Those  that  are  Christians  have  old- 
world  notions  of  an  organic  relation  between  Church 
and  State.  Their  views  and  practices  regarding  the 
Sabbath  and  temperance  as  well  as  other  social  ques- 
tions are  antagonistic  to  ours.  Our  churches  retreat 
before  this  inflowing  tide,  seeking  a  congenial 
environment  in  the  more  remote  and  favored  por- 
tions of  our  island.  If  our  purpose  is  to  build  up  our 
church,  this  is  of  course  the  right  course  to  take. 


170  THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

But  if  our  aim  is  to  change  the  character  of  our 
community,  then  we  should  bring  to  bear  upon  these 
dense  masses  our  best  Gospel  appliances.  And  our 
most  effective  measures  will  be  preventive  and  educa- 
tional; our  most  enduring  work  will  be  among  the 
children.  Alterative  processes  will  in  the  nature  of 
the  case  be  slow  and  prosaic,  but  they  will  be  sure. 

The  foreigners  that  come  among  us  are  very  pro- 
lific. The  children  far  outnumber  the  parents.  The 
law  limits  the  number  of  parents  to  two,  but  there  is 
no  law  fixing  the  number  of  children.  Again  the 
children,  in  the  natural  order  of  events,  will  live 
longer  than  the  parents,  since  they  are  younger.  So 
that  this  foreign  child-life  extends  farther  in  time  as 
well  as  in  space.  The  old  birds  will  soon  drop  ofif 
the  perch,  but  the  young  brood  will  live  on  and  on. 
And  then  the  children  are  accessible,  while  the 
parents  are  not.  They  want  to  learn  our  language, 
and  are  allured  by  the  life  and  enjoy  the  music  in 
our  churches  and  Sunday  Schools.  Besides,  the 
children  are  malleable,  while  the  parents  are  inflex- 
ible. If  the  character  of  a  community  is  to  be 
changed  at  all  it  must  be  through  the  children. 

I.  The  Sunday  School. 

Tlie  Sunday  School,  which  has  already  been  treated 
of  in  Chapter  IV,  is  perhaps*  the  strongest  weapon 
used  by  the  Church  in  city  evangelization.  The 
children  are  often  drawn  from  families  which  the 
Gospel  can  touch  in  no  other  way.  Then  if  the 
Sunday  School  is  pervaded  by  an  evangelistic  spirit, 
and  is  not  merely  a  class  in  sacred  geography  where 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  171 

the  children  are  taught  the  distance  from  Jerusalem 
to  Jericho,  but  if  Christ  is  presented  to  their  young 
minds  as  a  personal  Saviour,  many  of  them  will  be 
sure  to  accept  Him.  Then  they  will  want  to  join 
your  church.  In  many  cases  the  parents  will  inter- 
pose no  objections.  Then  the  children  will  come 
into  the  church ;  and  I  have  found  these  little  foreign 
children  my  best  members.  Tliey  love  to  attend  all 
the  services.  They  sit  in  front.  They  join  heartily  in 
the  singing.  In  other  cases  the  parents  may  forbid 
their  children  to  join  your  church.  Even  then  you 
have  started  a  current  of  new  spiritual  life  that  flows 
back  into  the  bosom  of  the  old  state  churches;  and 
in  either  event  the  character  of  the  community  is 
radically  changed  for  the  better. 

There  was  once  in  Broome  street  a  flourishing 
Baptist  church.  It  began  to  decline  through  the 
invasion  of  its  field  by  foreigners,  and  the  removal 
of  its  members  to  the  upper  part  of  the  city.  It  left 
its  down  town  field  and  took  up  a  new  position  at 
the  corner  of  Park  avenue  and  Thirty-ninth  street, 
and  later  still  moved  to  Seventy-ninth  street  and  the 
Boulevard.  Its  old  house  of  worship  in  Broome 
street  is  now  occupied  by  a  Lutheran  church,  which 
has  a  Sunday  School  of  a  thousand  members,  and  a 
Day  School  with  fifteen  hundred  scholars.  Now  I 
submit  that  the  Baptist  church  would  have  accom- 
plished more  for  the  moral  and  religious  improve- 
ment of  our  city,  had  it  been  possible  for  it,  instead 
of  going  up  town,  to  hold  its  own  in  its  old  down 
town   field  and  adapt  its   gearing  to   its  new   and 


172  THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH. 

adverse    conditions,    engaging    especially   in    work 
among  children. 

II.  The  Kindergarten. 

But  the  Sunday  School  alone  is  inadequate.  The 
sessions  are  too  short  and  too  far  apart.  Currents  of 
sin  and  worldliness  sweep  between  the  Sundays  and 
wash  away  holy  impressions.  What  headway  would 
we  make  in  teaching  arithmetic  or  geography,  if  the 
lesson  came  once  a  week,  and  occupied  half  an  hour, 
and  was  taught  by  such  incompetent,  untrained,  and 
unpaid  teachers  as  are  to  be  found  in  our  Sunday 
Schools!  Is  it  strange  that  our  youth  are  growing 
up  in  ignorance  of  our  sacred  books?  The  study  of 
the  Bible  is  necessarily  ruled  out  of  our  pub- 
lic schools.  Family  prayer  is  becoming  ob- 
solete even  in  Christian  homes,  and  where  it 
exists,  it  is  often  conducted  in  a  desultory  and 
humdrum  manner.  If  we  would  redeem  the 
children,  the  church  must  have  her  day-schools. 
Let  her  have  a  kindergarten,  which  will  embrace 
children  from  three  to  seven.  These  are  too  young 
to  be  admitted  into  the  public  schools,  and  here  is  a 
providential  opportunity  which  the  church  has  of 
gathering  them  into  her  fold  day  by  day.  Let  her 
employ  a  devout  and  trained  kindergartner,  who, 
shall  not  only  educate  the  child's  mind  and  body 
with  the  charming  symbolic  exercises  of  the  kinder- 
garten, but  will  also  tell  each  day  a  little  of  the  story 
of  the  life  of  Christ,  and  also  teach  the  child  Christian 
prayers  and  hymns.  Let  the  kindergarten  be  supple- 
mented   upward    by   a   primary    school,    embracing 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  173 

children  from  seven  to  nine,  and  downward  by  a  day 
nursery  and  creche,  including  children  from  birth  to 
three. 

The  church  will  then  have  a  complete  educational 
system,  meeting  the  wants  of  childhood  from  infancy 
to  the  age  of  nine.  This  is  the  period  when  the  mind 
most  easily  takes  religious  impressions,  and  these 
impressions  endure;  as  you  can  see  in  one  of  our 
museums  a  bronze  arrow-head  that  bears  the  impress 
of  a  human  finger.  I  do  not  mean  to  depreciate  the 
public  school,  and  the  church  should  never  ask  for 
funds  from  the  State  with  which  to  maintain  her 
educational  ventures.  And  she  cannot  look  to  the 
State  to  instruct  her  children  in  religion.  It  is  not 
right  for  us  to  foist  our  religious  view^s  upon  an 
educational  system  that  depends  for  its  support  upon 
people  of  every  faith,  and  of  no  faith  at  all.  There 
is  nothing  in  the  essential  nature  of  the  public  school 
itself  to  improve  the  individual  in  his  moral  and 
religious  being.  The  public  school  will  take  its 
moral  and  religious  color  from  the  prevailing  char- 
acter of  the  community  in  which  it  swims.  It  is 
left  for  the  church  to  educate  her  own  children  dur- 
ing those  tender  years,  when,  if  ever,  we  become 
religious  beings. 

It  seems  strange  that  men  should  insist  upon 
Christian  Universities  and  Colleges  and  Acade- 
mies, and  be  quite  content  to  commit  our  chil- 
dren, at  the  distinctively  religious  age,  to  secular 
schools.  No,  our  youth  become  infidel  long  before 
they  enter  the  Academy  or  College.  The  early  plas- 
tic years  of  infancy  and  childhood  are  requisite  to  the 


174  THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH. 

making  of  saint,  as  well  as  of  artist.  It  is  safe  at  any 
rate  for  the  mission  church  to  try  such  educational 
experiments.  For,  in  the  public  school,  the  smallest 
children  are  very  much  crowded.  The  danger  is  of 
a  wholesale  and  mechanical  system  of  teaching,  that 
will  not  gently  and  penetratingly  search  out  indi- 
vidual needs.  Here  is  the  opportunity  of  the  church. 
Let  her  fold  the  neglected  little  ones  to  her  bosom 
on  weekdays  as  well  as  on  Sundays.  She  will  at 
least  do  no  harm.  Even  young  doctors  are  allowed 
to  gain  their  experience  by  treating  the  poor;  for, 
strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  physiological  interior  of 
the  rich  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  poor,  and,  by 
experimenting  upon  those  whom  no  one  cares  any- 
thing about,  you  can  learn  to  cure  people  of  high 
degree.  Education  is  such  a  blessed  good  thing, 
that  you  cannot  have  too  much  of  it  in  any  commu- 
nity. Let  the  State  educate;  let  the  church  educate; 
let  private  individuals  educate ;  and  even  then,  do  not 
fear,  there  will  be  left  many  dark  corners  in  society 
—  unillumined  by  the  lamp  of  culture. 

Besides  the  Kindergarten,  Day  nursery,  and  Pri- 
mary school,  the  Institutional  Church  may  feel  the 
need  in  her  educational  plant  of  a  Sezving  ScJwol  for 
Girls  on  Saturday,  a  Junior  Choir  for  Boys  and  Girls, 
a  Class  in  Gymnastics  for  Girls,  and  a  Class  in  Gym- 
nastics for  Boys,  (which  we  have  found  simpler  and 
less  expensive  and  more  attractive  than  the  Boys' 
Brigade).  In  this  way  she  will  keep  her  arm  around 
a  large  number  of  different  children,  and  the  feet  of 
childhood  will  wear  smooth  the  paths  that  converge 
to  the  church  door.     Children  are  very  sensitive  to 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  1 75 

social  atmospheres.    They  are  Hke  the  martlets  that 
frequented  the  castle  of  Macbeth. 

"  Where  they 
Most  breed  and  haunt,  I  have  observed,  the  air 
Is  delicate." 

III.  Children's  Meetings. 

At  our  Gospel  Meetings  on  Monday,  Tuesday, 
Thursday  and  Saturday  evenings,  the  children  come 
in  a  large  throng,  attracted  'by  the  out-door  singing. 
They  are  a  disturbing  element  in  the  indoor  meeting, 
the  exercises  not  being  suited  to  their  immature 
intelligence.  And  so  we  have  learned  to  take  them 
into  a  room  by  themselves,  and  to  occupy  them  with 
singing,  prayer.  Scripture  reading,  and  a  blackboard 
or  object  lesson.  From  this  meeting  they  can  the 
more  easily  be  drawn  into  the  Sunday  School. 

IV.  The  Children's  Home. 

Besides  the  various  forms  of  work  for  children 
which  have  been  described,  there  is  still  another  field 
open  to  the  church,  with  inspiring  possibilities  of 
rescue  and  usefulness.  It  would  be  quite  practicable 
for  many  churches  to  take  entire  charge  of  small 
groups  of  needy  children.  A  portion  of  our  building, 
equal  in  size  to  a  spacious  three-story  house,  is 
manently  cared  for.  And  under  the  same  roof  they 
have  shelter,  bed,  clothes,  food,  school,  and  church. 
The  conditions  of  entrance  are  much  more  elastic 
than  they  can  be  made  in  large  institutions.  Beyond 
devoted  to  this  use.  Here  twenty  children  are  per- 
the  single  requirement  that  only  children  between 


176  THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

the  ages  of  three  and  ten  shall  be  received,  there  are, 
in  fact,  no  conditions  of  entrance  laid  down.  We  are 
thus  enabled  to  provide  for  cases  which  do  not  come 
within  the  scope  of  the  ordinary  asylum.  Emergen- 
cies of  sickness  or  of  temporary  disruption  often 
arise  in  the  families  of  the  poor,  when  it  is  an  incal- 
culable help  if  the  children  can  be  safely  disposed  of 
for  a  time,  without  the  necessity  of  surrendering 
them  for  a  term  of  years.  A  hard  place  is  tided  over; 
the  health,  perhaps  the  life,  of  a  worn  mother  is 
saved;  an  erring  father  is  aided  and  stimulated  to 
regain  the  footing  he  has  lost;  and,  after  a  few  weeks 
or  months,  the  family  life  is  resumed. 

There  is  also  the  advantage  that  in  so  small  an 
institution  as  this,  many  of  the  much  deprecated 
drawbacks  of  "  institutionalism  "  are  averted.  The 
wisest  students  and  the  most  competent  administra- 
tors of  benevolence  have  expressed  grave  misgivings 
as  to  the  advantages  of  large  institutions  for  the  care 
of  children.  Recognizing  the  immense  good  which 
such  institutions  have  accomplished,  they  yet  deplore 
the  inevitable  imperfections  of  the  wholesale  method. 
In  a  conference  on  methods  of  benevolence,  held  at 
the  United  Charities  Building  in  this  city,  much 
emphasis  v/as  laid  on  the  evils  of  institutionalism. 
Several  experienced  leaders  in  work  for  children 
strongly  urged  the  equipment  of  institutions  on  the 
cottage  system.  The  point  insisted  on  was  the 
preservation  of  the  family  idea  and  tone.  Precisely 
this  is  feasible  in  a  little  church  home  like  ours.  The 
children  have  their  meals  with  the  matron,  at  a  well- 
appointed  home  table.     The  matron  and  the  nurse 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  177 

can  give  to  all  of  them  something  at  least  of  the  indi- 
vidual thought  and  care,  the  ''  mothering  "  that  the 
child  nature  craves  and  needs,  and  which  with  the 
best  intentions  can  hardly  be  bestowed  where  chil- 
dren are  dealt  with  by  hundreds.  As  Mrs.  Kate 
Douglas  Wiggin  has  aptly  put  it,  a  cosy  home  with 
a  Httle  ''  h  "  is  better  for  every  child  than  the  best 
regular  home  with  a  capital  H. 

This  opens  up  a  wide  vista  of  opportunity  for  the 
Church.  As  we  have  a  little  Home  for  Children,  and 
endeavor  thus,  on  a  small  scale,  to  meet  the  wants  of 
our  neighborhood,  we  hope  soon  to  have  also  a  Home 
for  the  Sick.  I  have  sometimes  thought  that  our 
charities  are  on  too  large  a  scale,  and  might  better  be 
divided  into  smaller  sections,  so  as  to  meet  neigh- 
borhood requirements.  This  would  be  done  if  each 
church  had  its  little  institution  for  the  sick,  or  for  the 
aged,  as  well  as  for  little  children.  In  this  way  could 
be  secured  that  close  and  Argus-eyed  inspection  to 
which  all  philanthropy  should  be  constantly  exposed. 
No  wrong  could  be  done  to  an  inmate  of  a  church 
institution  without  all  the  church  knowing  about  it, 
especially  if  there  were  a  sewing  circle  in  the  church. 

I  cannot  too  strongly  emphasize  work  among 
children.  It  is  through  the  children  that  the  great 
masses  of  foreign  population  will  be  gradually  assim- 
ilated, Oiristianized,  naturalized.  As  a  rule  the  for- 
eigners among  us  should  not  be  organized  into 
churches  of  their  own,  with  services  in  their  own 
tongues.  Such  churches  are  sure  to  languish, 
because  the  children  of  the  foreigners,  as  they  grow 
up,  will  want  to  attend  American  churches,  and  listen 


178  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

to  English  preaching.  The  better  way  is  for  the 
American  church  to  employ  a  foreign  minister  who 
will  assist  its  own  pastor,  holding,  two  or  three  times 
a  week,  a  service  in  the  foreign  language,  to  meet 
the  requirement  of  the  grown-up  people  who  will, 
perhaps,  never  learn  to  speak  English,  and  to  whom 
worship  in  their  own  tongue  has  a  peculiar  sweet- 
ness; and  at  the  same  time  gathering  thg  children 
of  his  own  nationality  into  the  different  children's 
departments  of  the  American  church.  In  this  way 
racial  needs  will  be  satisfied  and  the  church  becomes 
somewhat  cosmopolitan  in  its  character.  There 
should  be  one  organized  Church,  one  Communion 
Table,  one  Board  of  Ministers,  one  Sunday  Morning 
Service,  with  several  Sunday  Evening  Services  in  the 
several  languages.  And  we  may  learn  that,  as  in 
the  ApostoHc  day,  an  amalgam  of  nationalities  will 
make  a  stronger  church  than  the  metal  of  any  one 
race,  and  that  there  is  no  more  potent  witness  to  the 
divineness  of  Christianity  than  that  abolition  of  race 
antipathy,  which  the  Apostle  calls  the  breaking  down 
of  the  middle  wall  of  partition  between  us. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN. 

A  church  that  proposes  to  cope  with  the  tides  of 
social  evil  that  converge  against  it  in  a  great  city 
like  ours,  ought  to  have  a  parish  house.  This  word, 
which  you  cannot  find  even  in  the  Century  Diction- 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  179 

ary,  may  be  defined  as  enclosed  space,  either  within 
the  church  edifice  or  near  by,  to  be  used  for  other 
than  strictly  and  distinctly  religious  purposes. 
The  main  auditory  of  a  church  should  be  used  for 
worship  alone.  Tlie  place  where  we  meet  to  observe 
the  holy  ordinances  of  our  religion,  and  to  join  in  the 
public  and  the  solemn  devotions  of  Sunday,  should 
never  be  invaded  by  any  secular  entertainment. 
That  spot  is  not  inherently  more  sacred  than  any 
other,  but  we  are  such  creatures  of  association  that, 
if  we  meet  to  pray  in  a  place  which  we  have  already 
used  for  other  than  religious  purposes,  the  mind 
harks  back,  and  is  so  infested  by  the  memories  of 
incongruous  scenes,  that  it  may  fall  short  of  wor- 
shipping the  Lord  in  the  beauty  of  holiness.  Let 
only  hallowed  suggestions  pervade  the  place  where 
we  engage  in  prayer  — 

"  That  stoop   of  the   soul  which   in  bending  upraises   it 
still." 

Hence  the  need  of  a  hall  contiguous  to  the  main 
auditory,  but  entirely  distinct  from  it.  Here  may 
be  held  the  cheerful  exercises  of  the  Sunday-school, 
and  the  more  social  devotions  of  the  prayer-meeting; 
and  into  the  Jiall  I  would  not  scruple  to  admit  the 
lecture,  or  the  concert,  or  the  pastor's  reception,  or 
the  church  sociable.  This  is  the  rudiment  of  the 
parish-house. 

It  would  not  be  strange  if  this  hall  should  blossom 
into  a  school-house.  Either  it  may  be  itself  used  for 
educational  purposes,  or  there  will  be  two  or  three 
apartments  connected  with  it,  equipped  as  school- 


l8o  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

rooms.  If  a  church  is  situated  in  a  foreign  or  uncon- 
genial community,  as  has  been  remarked  in  a  former 
chapter,  it  will  have  to  gather  the  children  together 
on  week  days  as  well  as  Sunday. 

But  the  parish-house  should  include  not  only  a  hall 
and  school-room;  there  should  be  headquarters  for 
young  men.  It  would  be  well  if  the  young  men  in 
each  church  were  organized  into  a  society  —  a  kind 
of  local  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  In 
this  way  the  spirit  and  the  methods  of  that  great 
society  would  be  widely  diffused  and  applied  at  a 
myriad  different  points.  When  Satan  proposes  to 
debauch  a  city  full  of  people,  he  doesn't  build  a  grand 
central  saloon  at  one  conspicuous  point  and  then 
establish  three  or  four  additional  branches.  He  just 
honeycombs  the  city.  He  puts  a  snug,  cheerful 
saloon  on  almost  every  corner.  The  weary  way- 
farer has  not  far  to  travel  in  order  to  find  bright- 
ness, w^armth,  companionship  and  a  drink.  Now  if 
each  church  had  its  society  of  young  men,  with 
headquarters  consisting  of  sitting-rooms,  reading- 
room  and  gymnasium,  then,  on  the  great  principle 
of  displacement  they  could  cope  wn"th  this  insidious 
and  gigantic  evil  of  intemperance.  Like  Michael, 
the  archangel,  we  could  contend  successfully  with 
the  devil,  and  effectually  dispute  with  him  about  the 
bodies  of  our  young  men.  Why  could  not  even  a 
poor  church  do  this,  as  well  as  have  a  choir,  form- 
ing within  itself  a  musical  home,  into  which  con- 
genial spirits  are  attracted?  When  the  electric  light 
was  introduced,  the  great  problem  was  how  to  dis- 
perse it  so  as  to  distribute  the  rays  evenly  through- 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  l8l 

out  all  the  rooms  of  a  large  house.  Now  the  church 
edifices  are  pretty  evenly  distributed  throughout  the 
the  city,  and  if  each  one  of  them  should  become  a 
centre  of  light  and  cheer  for  the  young  men  in  its 
inmiediate  neighborhood,  the  problem  of  enlighten- 
ing the  city  would  be  solved. 

Let  the  Young  Men's  Headquarters,  then,  consist, 
if  possible,  of  a  sitting-room,  a  library  and  reading- 
room,  and  a  gymnasium.  Let  the  sitting-room  have 
a  cofTee-urn  in  the  corner,  a  fire-place,  easy  chairs, 
tables,  and  a  variety  of  innocent  games.  If  a  young 
man,  living  for  instance,  in  a  hall  bedroom  —  a 
stranger  in  the  city  —  is  at  a  loss  how  to  spend  the 
evening  socially,  he  has  a  place  where  he  can  meet 
other  young  men  and  enjoy  such  recreation  as  he 
needs  after  the  day's  work  is  done.  If  he  wants  to 
study  or  read,  he  has  a  quiet,  comfortable  place 
where  he  can  get  good  books  as  well  as  the  period- 
icals of  the  day.  If,  after  hours  of  sedentary  occupa- 
tion, he  needs  to  stretch  and  tire  his  muscles,  he  can 
take  instructions  in  gymnastics  under  a  teacher  who 
understands  the  whole  science  of  body-building.  In 
this  way  he  is  gently  and  unconsciously  lured  within 
the  influence  of  the  Church.  What  we  need  is  a 
kind  of  a  half-way  house  on  the  road  leading  from 
the  saloon  to  the  prayer-meeting.  Nowadays  you 
cannot  swing  religion  into  a  young  man's  conscious- 
ness prayer-meeting  end  to.  A  young  man  in  a 
great  city  like  ours  finds  himself  peculiarly  solitary. 
And  it  is  so  much  easier  to  form  bad  companionship 
than  good!  Each  church  has  a  great  work  to  do  in 
the  line  of  throwing  around  strangers  allurements  of 


152  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

friendliness.  In  Lake  Champlain  the  nets  are  pro- 
vided with  vast  wings  that  reach  out  sidewise,  and 
with  their  soft  and  tenuous  filaments  gently  coerce 
the  fish  into  the  fatal  enclosure.  The  Church  ought 
to  have  just  such  wings  of  alluring  influence. 

Of  course,  everything  might  have  to  be  on  a 
smaller  scale  in  the  local  church  than  in  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association.  The  smaller  the  bet- 
ter, perhaps.  For,  after  all,  you  are  only  striving 
to  meet  neighborhood  wants,  and  one  of  the  first 
things  to  learn  in  Christian  work  is  the  limitations  of 
our  responsibility.  If  your  equipment  be  too  large 
and  fine  and  expensive,  other  churches  trying  to  fol- 
low your  example  may  be  discouraged,  and  so  your 
work  does  not  prove  as  efifective  an  object  lesson. 
Let  us  be  content  to  carry  out  good  ideas  on  a  small 
scale.  This  American  passion  for  bigness  is  destroy- 
ing much  good.  What  is  needed  in  order  to  change 
for  the  good  the  stubborn  character  of  our  com- 
munity is  not  great  tabernacles  where  masses  of 
people  shall  be  loosely  and  precariously  held  together 
by  the  personal  magnetism  of  one  man.  People 
must  be  handled  at  close  quarters.  There  must  be 
organization  and  tedious  educational  processes. 
What  is  needed  is  not  some  great  ecclesiastical  estab- 
lishment, but  numerous  smaller  churches,  embedded 
in  the  mass  of  the  people,  and  each  church  a  com- 
pact, social  machine,  instinct  with 

"  The  spirit 
God  meant  should  mate  His  with  an  infinite  range  and 

inherit 
His  power  to  put  life  in  the  darkness  and  cold." 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  183 

We  have  Classes  in  Gymnastics  for  Young  Men 
on  Tuesday  and  Thursday  evenings  of  each  week, 
our  gymnasium  being  used  by  the  boys  on  Wednes- 
day and  Saturday  evenings,  and  by  the  women  and 
girls  on  Monday  evening.  With  the  exception  of 
the  Classes  in  Gymnastics  for  Women  and  Girls,  on 
Monday  evening,  which  are  very  popular  and  largely 
attended,  so  that  the  nightly  fees  for  admission  pay 
all  expenses  for  instruction,  suits,  apparatus  and 
music,  we  are  doing  little  or  nothing  in  an  organized 
way  for  young  women.  Much  could  be  accom- 
plished, no  doubt,  through  Girls'  Friendlies  and  the 
like.  We  find  that  women  and  girls  respond  to 
efforts  of  this  kind  m.ore  appreciatively  and  more 
efficiently  than  boys  and  young  men.  But,  in  the 
particular  part  of  the  city  where  we  are,  more  pro- 
vision is  made  for  the  physical,  social  and  mental 
wants  of  young  women  than  of  any  other  class.  The 
excellent  Young  Women's  Christian  Association, 
with  its  fine  building  and  well-conducted  depart- 
ments of  educational  and  philanthropic  work,  is  not 
far  from  us,  and  we  are  slow  to  undertake  to  meet  a 
need  which  is  already  better  met  by  others.  But 
the  ideal  way  would  be  for  the  young  women  in  each 
church  to  have  a  Young  Women's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation to  do  work  arwong  the  young  women  in  its 
particular  neighborhood.  I  have  often  thought  that 
if  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  were 
organized  at  the  present  day,  instead  of  fifty 
years  ago,  it,  like  the  Young  People's  Society  for 
Christian  Endeavor,  would  twine  its  eflforts  more 
closely  around  the  local  church.     Would  it  not  have 


184  THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH. 

been  far  better  for  it  to  house  its  varied  and  benefi- 
cent activities  in  the  Christian  church  edifices  that 
are  unused  for  so  large  a  part  of  every  week,  than 
to  build  throughout  the  country,  at  vast  expense,  a 
second  series  of  sacred  buildings,  in  many  of'  which 
it  performs  all  the  religious  functions  of  the  Church 
except  Communion  and  Baptism,  so  that  in  many 
respects  it  seems  itself  to  be  developing  into  a 
church,  but  one  that  discriminates  against  old  peo- 
ple, women  and  children?  (See  Appendix,  note  2.) 
A  Bible  class  in  the  Sunday  School  may  some- 
times be  successfully  developed  into  a  Young  Men's 
Club.  This  is  the  method  of  the  Baraca  Societies, 
which  in  many  churches  have  proved  so  flourishing 
and  beneficial. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH   AND    FINANCE. 

The  different  forms  of  institutional  work  described 
in  these  pages  cannot  be  produced  without  the 
expenditure  of  money,  and  the  question  naturally 
arises,  How  can  the  expenses  of  institutionalism  be 
miet  in  a  down-town  field?  It  is  important  that  the 
people  be  trained  to  give,  and'even  the  poor,  if  they 
learn  to  give  systematically,  may  be  depended  upon 
to  do  a  great  deal  for  the  work  of  their  church,  pro- 
vided the  seats  are  free  and  the  giving  be  made  an 
integral  part  of  the  worship  on  Sunday. 

I  think  that  free  seats  are  more  consonant  with 
the  teaching  of  Scripture  than  rented  pews.     There 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  185 

is,  indeed,  no  positive  command  that  seats  in  church 
should  be  free,  but  the  general  trend  of  evangelical 
truth  is  in  that  direction.  The  Protestant  view  is, 
that  salvation  is  free,  and  we  perform  work  and 
make  sacrifices,  out  of  gratitude  to  God.  The  Cath- 
olic view  is,  rather,  that  we  must  earn  our  right  to 
heaven  by  our  own  works  and  sacrifices.  Now, 
human  nature  is  so  put  together  that,  as  suggested 
by  a  Scriptural  instance,  where  there  is  one  who 
will  give  glory  to  God  because  he  is  healed,  there  are 
nine  who  will  only  perform  works  of  righteousness  in 
order  that  they  may  be  healed ;  and  this  is  why  Cath- 
olics are  more  scrupulous  in  church  observances  than 
Protestants.  It  is  because  fear  of  going  to  hell  is  a 
more  pungent  motive  with  the  rank  and  file  of 
humanity  than  gratitude  for  the  free  gift  of  salvation. 
But  we  must  stand  for  the  truth,  even  with  the 
minority. 

Now,  the  commercial  principle  of  renting  pews 
does  not  chime  with  the  great  evangelical  truth 
of  free  salvation.  Not  only  so,  but  I  think  it  can 
be  shown  that  the  system  of  renting  pews  is  in  direct 
violation  of  inspired  teaching.  Let  us  take  a  fair 
instance  of  a  church  in  which  that  system  prevails. 
Let  it  be  a  church  which  people  want  to  attend.  I 
do  not  mean  a  church  where  a  mere  handful  of  wor- 
shipers gather  —  hardly  enough  to  carry  one  of  their 
number  out  if  he  should  be  taken  ill  —  but  a  church 
in  which  the  seats  are  desirable  and  well  filled. 
Again,  let  us  exclude  those  exceptional  marvels  of 
church  architecture  where  every  seat  is  as  good  as 
any  other.     Let  us  suppose  that  some  of  the  pews, 


l86  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

on  account  of  remoteness  from  the  minister  or  the 
presence  of  columns,  are  inferior  to  others.  In  such 
a  church,  if  the  system  of  pew  rent  prevails,  you  will 
invariably  find  that  the  richer  people  will  occupy  the 
better  seats,  and  the  poorer  people  will  have  the 
inferior  pews,  and  we  may  quite  accurately  estimate 
a  person's  social  position  by  the  seat  which  he  accu- 
pies  in  God's  house.  Now,  this  is  in  direct  contra- 
vention of  the  familiar  precept  of  St.  James:  "  My 
brethren,  have  not  the  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Lord  of  Glory,  with  respect  of  persons,  for  if 
there  come  unto  your  assembly  a  man  with  a  gold 
ring,  in  goodly  apparel,  and  there  come  in  also  a 
poor  man  in  vile  raiment,  and  ye  have  respect  to 
him  that  weareth  the  gay  clothing,  and  say  unto  him, 
sit  thou  here  in  a  good  place;  and  say  to  the  poor, 
stand  thou  there;  or,  if  you  must  sit  down  (it  is 
strange  that  a  poor  man  should  expect  it),  sit  here 
under  my  foot-stool  (that  is,  on  the  pavement).  Are 
ye  not  then  partial  in  yourselves  (or,  as  Meyer  ren- 
ders it,  do  ye  not  doubt  in  yourselves?  In  other 
words,  the  very  bottom  has  dropped  out  of  your 
religion),  and  are  become  judges  of  evil  thoughts 
(or,  in  other  words,  evil-minded  judges)?" 

It  is  as  if  the  inspired  writer  should  say,  that 
if  we  systematically  and  continuously,  and  on 
principle,  violate  a  plain  precept  in  our  inspired 
Book,  we  almost  cease  to  have  the  right  to  call  our- 
selves Christians.  How  can  a  church  expect  the 
smile  of  Heaven  if  it  persistently  contravenes  a  clear 
direction  given  to  it  in  a  Book  which  it  claims  is 
inspired  of  God? 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  187 

But  while  it  seems  to  be  more  consonant  with  the 
spirit  of  the  Qiristian  rehgion  that  everything  in 
church  should  be  free,  and  while  a  church  seems  to 
be  surrendering  its  strongest  vantage-ground  when 
it  descends  to  the  arena  of  trade,  exposing  its 
religious  commodities  for  sale,  and  meeting  a  com- 
munity on  a  low  commercial  plane,  yet  many  objec- 
tions to  free  seats  will  at  once  occur  to  a  thoughtful 
mind.  Is  there  not  danger  of  the  dispersion  of  the 
family  in  the  house  of  God?  Through  an  experi- 
ence of  about  eighteen  years  in  a  free  church,  I  have 
not  perceived  that  the  members  of  the  same  family 
have  found  it  diiThcult,  not  only  to  sit  together,  but 
generally  in  the  same  place  each  Sunday;  but  even 
if  such  a  danger  should  impend,  it  could  readily  be 
obviated  by  the  free  assignment  of  seats  to  regular 
worshipers. 

The  apprehension  is  also  sometimes  felt,  that  the 
necessary  expenses  of  public  worship  cannot  be  met 
if  the  seats  are  free  —  that  people  will  not  give  as 
much  in  the  form  of  free-will  ofterings  as  they  would 
for  the  rent  of  their  pews.  I  want  to  take  a  fair 
view.  I  would  not  like  to  assume  the  tone  of  an  ad- 
vocate. While  I  have  been,  for  about  eighteen  years, 
serving  a  church  the  members  of  which  are,  almost 
without  exception,  in  humble  circumstances,  they 
have  raised  annually,  by  voluntary  offerings,  nearly 
seven  thousand  dollars.  It  should,  however,  be  said 
that  I  have  spent  upon  the  field  each  year  an  equiva- 
lent sum  raised  outside  the  church,  for  philanthropic, 
educational  and  missionary  purposes.  This  must  be 
taken   into  account,    for   doubtless    through    these 


l88  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

Special  measures,  paid  for  by  money  contributed 
from  without,  persons  have  been  brought  into  the 
church  and  have  become  regular  contributors. 

You  will  have  little  trouble  in  persuading  the  poor 
to  give  their  proportion.  It  may  be  that  the  wealthy 
would  give  more,  in  response  to  the  commercial 
pressure  of  pew  rents;  but  I  am  sure  that  the  poor 
may  be  depended  upon  to  give  far  more  on  the  vol- 
untary system.  And  even  if  a  sponging  spirit  pre- 
vails in  the  attitude  of  the  community  to  the  church, 
whose  fault  is  it?  Is  not  the  Churdh  to  blame,  since 
it  has  so  long  accustomed  the  people  to  meet  it  in  a 
commercial  spirit?  Is  it  at  all  strange  that  a  com- 
munity, which  through  a  long  series  of  generations, 
has  been  trained  up  to  the  plan  of  quid  pro  quo,  should 
upon  the  sudden  application  of  the  voluntary  prin- 
ciple, feel  incHned  to  impose  on  the  church?  It  is  as 
if  a  man  who  had  worn  shoulder  braces  for  many 
years,  should  suddenly  leave  them  off.  But  let  the 
church  persevere  in  the  policy  of  free  seats,  and  I 
think  that  in  the  end  a  larger  stream  of  revenue  will 
flow  into  her  cofifers  through  voluntary  channels 
than  along  the  groove  of  the  commercial  principle. 

The  principle,  in  order  to  succeed,  must  be  thor- 
oughly believed  in  and  wisely  applied.  Some  people 
seem  to  think  that  an  idea  of  Jesus  has  such  inherent 
and  stubborn  vitality,  that  you  can  lay  it  down  as 
you  would  a  foundling  on  a  doorstep,  and  it  will  feed 
itself  and  clothe  itself  and  educate  itself  without  any 
trouble  to  anybody.  So  strong  is  their  faith  in  the 
supernatural  element  of  our  religion,  that  they  feel 
exempt  from  any  special  obligation  to  use  their  own 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL    CHURCH.  189 

efforts  to  make  truth  a  success  in  the  world.  They 
proclaim  the  system  of  free  seats  and  then  sit  down 
and  see  how  it  will  work.  No,  we  must  step  on 
board  the  ideas  of  Jesus  and  then  navigate  them 
with  our  utmost  prudence.  There  was  once  a  min- 
ister who  did  not  know  how  to  harness  his  horse. 
The  time  came  when  he  had  to  perform  that  some- 
what intricate  operation.  What  did  the  poor  man 
do,  but  drop  the  harness  down  on  the  barn  floor  and 
then  undertake  to  drive  his  horse  into  it.  You  can- 
not drive  a  church  into  the  ideas  of  Jesus;  they  must 
be  gently,  wisely  and  unweariedly  applied. 

In  order  to  make  free  seats  a  success,  the  duty  of 
giving  for  the  maintenance  of  religion  must  be 
earnestly  and  frequently  preached  and  pressed  home. 
Tliis  a  minister  can  do  when  the  seats  are  free,  as  he 
cannot  do  when  they  are  rented.  Let  the  giving  be 
systematic.  Make  use  of  the  envelope  system.  On 
the  first  Sunday  of  the  financial  year,  persuade  each 
worshiper,  not  only  the  heads  of  families,  but  eacl\ 
little  child  as  well;  not  the  Vv ell-to-do  only,  but  also 
the  poor,  to  take  a  package  containing  as  many  envel- 
opes as  there  are  Sundays  in  the  year,  each  envelope 
bearing  a  date.  Indicate  to  the  people,  perhaps  by 
means  of  a  blackboard,  that  one  cent  a  Sunday  means 
fifty  cents  a  year,  and  that  five  cents  means  two  dol- 
lars and  fifty  cents,  and  so  onward  and  upward. 
Have  them  deposit  the  envelope  at  either  preaching 
service,  or  at  the  Sunday  school.  It  might  be  well 
to  have  each  package  numbered,  the  number  stand- 
ing for  the  holder  of  the  package.  But  if  so,  the 
treasurer  of  the  church  must  be  a  discreet  man  and  it 


ipo  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

must  be  understood  that  what  each  one  gives  remains 
a  secret  with  him.  Let  the  voluntariness  of  the  sys- 
tem be  emphasized.  It  is  my  custom  to  have  the 
envelopes  passed  around  in  church  at  the  time  when 
the  subject  is  first  presented,  so  that  all  the  wor- 
shipers may  supply  themselves.  Then  I  speak  of  the 
matter  on  two  or  three  succeeding  Sundays,  so  that 
the  people  who  are  not  present  on  the  first  Sunday 
may  understand  the  plan  and  may  secure  envelopes. 
Besides  this,  every  two  or  three  months  I  refer  to 
our  plan  in  the  course  of  a  sermon,  urging  people 
to  fidelity  and  inviting  new  worshipers  to  take  hold. 
At  the  end  of  the  year,  I  advise  those  who  have 
fallen  behind  in  their  giving  to  tear  up  the  old  envel- 
opes, if  they  cannot  make  up  the  deficiency,  and 
begin  the  new  year  with  a  clean  slate. 

Again,  in  order  to  make  free  seats  a  successj  the 
giving  for  the  support  of  the  Gospel  should  be  made, 
as  it  is  in  the  Church  of  England,  an  integral  part 
of  divine  worship.  I  never  use  the  term  taking  up  a 
collection,  but  rather  making  an  offering.  The  method 
with  us  is  as  follows:  At  the  close  of  the  sermon, 
the  organ  begins  to  play  softly.  I  descend  from  the 
pulpit  and  give  the  collection  plates  to  the  officers 
of  the  church,  who  gather  up  the  gifts  and  deposit 
them  in  my  hands,  while  all  the  time  I  am  repeating 
appropriate  Scriptures.  Then,  when  the  officers 
have  taken  their  seats,  I  offer  all  to  the  Lord  in  a 
word  of  prayer.  I  believe  that  this  part  of  the  wor- 
ship may  be  made  as  attractive  and  inspiring  as  any 
other,  except  it  be  the  Holy  Communion. 

The  objection  is  sometimes  made  to  the  free  seat 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  191 

"system,  that  the  people  will  regard  what  they  give 
for  the  support  of  their  church  as  benevolence,  and 
accordingly  there  will  be  a  falling  oft  in  their  gifts 
for  distinctively  missionary  purposes.  This  danger 
must  be  guarded  against.  I  have  not,  however, 
observed  any  such  tendency  among  my  own  people. 
I  think  it  works  well  to  have  for  missionary  offerings 
another  set  of  envelopes  than  those  used  for  the 
church  —  of  a  different  color,  say  red  instead  of 
brown  —  pursuing,  however,  in  both  cases  the  same 
general  plan.  Each  worshiper,  in  order  to  perform 
his  full  duty,  would  deposit  in  the  collection  every 
Sunday  two  envelopes  of  dififerent  colors,  one  for  his 
church,  the  other  for  missions. 

This  need  not,  however,  exclude  an  annual  appeal; 
for  some  would  prefer,  perhaps,  to  make  their  offer- 
ing once  a  year  in  one  sum.  When,  however,  the 
time  for  the  annual  appeal  comes,  it  should  be  under- 
stood that  those  whose  custom  it  is  to  make  a  weekly 
offering  are  not  expected  to  give  more  on  that  Sun- 
day than  their  regular  proportion. 

Again,  as  regards  institutional  features,  there  will 
be  no  expenses  for  rent,  because,  for  the  most  of  this 
work,  the  rooms  in  the  church  edifice  itself  may  be 
used  for  institutional  purposes,  so  that  the  building 
will  be  all  the  time  instinct  with  life  and  use  and 
joy.  The  Sunday-school  room  in  many  of  our 
churches  would  make  an  ideal  place  for  a  day  school. 
It  is  much  more  commodious  and  better  ventilated 
than  many  of  our  public  school  rooms.  I  some- 
times think  that  our  churches  show  too  little  econ- 
omy in  their  use  of  property.     In  a  part  of  the  city, 


192  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

for  instance,  where  worldly  men  are  erecting  struct-^ 
ures  from  six  to  sixteen  stories  above  ground,  with 
two  or  three  floors  under  ground,  and  are  using  these 
buildings  during  all  the  twenty-four  hours  of  every 
day  in  the  week  for  business  and  for  residence,  the 
people  of  God  will  spread  out  their  edifice  with  a 
frontage  of,  say,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  occupy- 
ing a  single  floor,  their  church  proper  and  Sunday- 
school  room  being  placed  side  by  side.  And  this 
space  vv'hich  they  enclose  and  shut  in  from  the  genial 
habitations  of  men  they  use  only  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  hours  a  week.  The  rest  of  the  time  it  is  occu- 
pied by  mice,  silence  and  gloom  — 

"  But  else  it  is  a  lonely  time 
Round  the  church  of  Brou." 

Now,  if  these  empty  spaces  could  be  occupied  with 
educational  and  philanthropic  work,  the  church 
would  make  upon  the  community  an  impression  ol 
vitality  instead  of  solitude  and  death.  What  a  god- 
send it  would  be,  if  the  solemn  church  should  become 
each  week  day  a  school,  and  be  filled  with  the  joyous, 
crescent  life  of  childhood ! 

In  the  original  construction,  also,  of  the  church 
edifice  a  provision  may  be  made  for  an  endowment, 
a  part  of  the  building  being  erected  with  a  view  to 
meeting  the  needs  of  that  particular  part  of  the  town, 
so  that  there  may  be  produced  a  revenue  which  can 
be  used  in  institutional  work.  This  suggests  the 
general  question  of  church  endowment.  I  can  see 
no  reason  why  a  church  should  not  be  endowed  as 
well  as  an  educatiorial  institution.     Only  the  rev- 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  1 93 

enue  from  the  endowment  should  be  used,  not  for 
the  normal  current  expenses  of  the  church,  pro- 
ducing a  spirit  of  ecclesiastical  pauperism,  but  to 
sustain  the  aggressive,  missionary,  educational  and 
philanthropic  work,  which  would  tend  in  an  alien  and 
uncongenial  comnumity  to  quarry  out  a  membership 
which  would  be  able  to  pay  the  current  expenses. 
My  equation  would  be  that  a  church  must  spend  on 
the  field  in  aggressive  work  a  sum  equal  to  what  it 
requires  for  its  normal  current  expenses. 

There  are,  moreover,  many  forms  of  institutional 
work  which  are  comparatively  inexpensive.  The 
working  people  very  willingly  co-operate  in  plans 
for  the  betterment  of  their  condition,  and  for  inno- 
cent, wholesome  and  instructive  entertainments  in 
the  evening.  We  have  found  that  our  gymnastic 
classes  for  women  and  girls  have  more  than  met  the 
expenses  of  instruction  and  equipment  through  the 
fees  which  the  members  wiUingly  pay.  The  church 
has  little  idea  how  nuich  institutional  work  she  can 
do  if  she  encourages  the  w'orking  people  around  her 
to  co-operate  under  her  influence  and  direction,  giv- 
ing them  the  use  of  her  rooms.  In  this  way  the  peo- 
ple are  conciliated,  and  come  to  regard  the  church 
as  their  friend. 

Again,  there  are  many  people  of  large  means  in 
our  cities  that  become  interested  in  practical  work 
of  this  kind  and  will  contribute  what  they  might 
feel  inclined  to  withhold  from  the  ordinary  church 
treasury.  It  is  easy  to  bring  against  the  rich  the 
wholesale  charge  of  covetousness.  Rut  I  believe 
that  here  in  New  York  there  is  immense  treasure  in 


194  THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

suspense  and  ready  to  be  used,  when  the  possessors 
are  convinced  that  their  gifts  will  do  more  good  than 
harm,  when  channels  are  laid  open  through  which 
their  benevolence  may  flow  for  the  actual  relief  of 
suffering  and  for  the  permanent  amelioration  of  man- 
kind. So  much  money  is  wasted  in  charity  and  in 
missionary  work  that  I  do  not  wonder  wealthy  peo- 
ple are  slow  and  cautious.  Like  an  old  rat  that  has 
been  nipped  in  many  traps,  they  grow  very  wary. 
But  let  wealthy  men  and  women  know  that  under 
their  eyes  and  in  their  own  church  there  are  such 
forms  of  educational  and  philanthropic  work  as  I 
have  described,  and  you  will  be  surprised  to  see 
how  readily  they  will  subscribe  for  their  support. 
Besides,  there  are,  even  on  our  great  avenues, 
sporadic  cases  of  missionary  zeal.  People  will  avail 
themselves  of  the  opportunity  which  an  Institutional 
Church  puts  within  their  reach  of  devoting  them- 
selves as  well  as  their  money  to  such  work.  Only 
in  this  way  can  society  be  changed  for  the  better. 
The  wise  and  good  and  happy  must  come  them- 
selves into  close  personal  touch  with  those  who  are 
depraved  and  sad.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  truth  in 
those  fine  words  of  Dr.  Arnold,  of  Rugby :  "  The 
most  certain  softeners  of  a  man's  moral  skin  and 
sweeteners  of  his  blood  are,  I  am  sure,  domestic 
intercourse  in  a  happy  marriage  and  intercourse  with 
the  poor." 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  195 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH   AND 
DENOMINATIONALISM. 

The  Christian  finds  himself  bounded  by  three 
concentric  horizons.  The  innermost  circle  is  the 
local  church,  which  may  be  defined  as  himself  with 
those  of  his  fellow-believers  who  habitually  receive 
the  bread  and  the  cup  at  the  same  communion  table. 
These  little  nuclei  are  grouped  into  a  larger  social 
organism  called  the  denomination,  which  compre- 
hends Qiristians,  who,  while  they  cherish  with  others 
the  great  essential  truths  of  Christendom,  stoutly 
hold  certain  distinctive  tenets  of  their  own.  This 
forms  our  second  horizon.  We  cannot  find  denom- 
inationalism  in  the  Bible.  Nevertheless,  it  is  a  stub- 
born historic  fact,  and  must  be  taken  account  of. 
The  outermost  horizon  of  all  is  the  spiritual  church 
—  that  vague  and  majestic  conception  which  glim- 
mers here  and  there  in  Holy  Scripture,  and  reminds 
us  that  all,  whether  members  of  any  local  church  or 
not,  who  by  personal  faith  and  love  accept  Christ 
as  their  Saviour  and  Guide,  belong  to  one  flock  and 
have  one  Shepherd.  Each  one  of  us  dwells  within 
the  embrace  of  these  three  concentric  horizons  — 
church,   denomination,   Christendom. 

Now  each  denomination  of  Christians,  whether 
Episcopalian,  or  Presbyterian,  or  Congregationalist, 
or  Methodist,  or  Baptist,  witnesses  to  certain  dis- 
tinctive  truths.     This   many-sidedness   enables   the 


196  THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

Christian  Church  more  effectively  to  minister  to  the 
varied  wants  of  individual  temperaments.  Each 
denomination  fancies  that  it  embraces  the  whole 
sphere  of  revealed  truth,  while  in  reality  it  is  merely 
engaged  in  rounding  out  a  segment  of  the  sphere,  so 
that,  through  the  co-operation  of  all,  the  whole  sys- 
tem of  Christian  doctrine  will  finally  assume  in  the 
minds  of  men  its  full-orbed  proportions. 

How  futile,  then,  is  denominational  selfishness !  For 
when  a  denomination  has  borne  complete  witness 
to  the  truths  providentially  committed  to  its  charge, 
and  they  have  little  by  little  filtered  through  the  con- 
sciousness of  Christendom,  and  have  become  the 
common  property  and  belief  of  Christians  at  large, 
then  its  very  raison  d'etre  ceases  to  exist.  It  has  per- 
formed its  mission.  There  is  nothing  left  for  it  to  do 
but  to  distribute  its  assets,  put  up  the  shutters  and 
go  out  of  business.  Denominational  triumph  means 
denominational  dissolution.  There  is  no  copyright 
on  truth.  What  we  believe,  if  it  is  true,  will  be 
gradually  believed  by  everybody.  The  doctrines 
v*^hich  each  denomination  stands  for,  if  they  are  true, 
will  be  silently  appropriated  by  others,  and  it  will 
not  even  get  the  credit  of  them.  People  will  not 
join  the  denomination,  but  its  truth  will  join  the 
people  where  they  are.  All  truth  is  essentially  per- 
vasive. The  Christian  world  is  becoming  more  and 
more  like  the  England  which  Tennyson  describes : 

"A  land  of  settled  government, 

A  land  of  just  and  old  renown, 
Where  Freedom  broadens  slowly  down, 
From  precedent  to  precedent." 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  197 

"  Where  faction  seldom  gathers  head, 
But  by  degrees  of  fulness  wrought, 
The  strength  of  some  diffusive  thought 
Hath  time  and  space  to  work  and  spread." 

Christians  are  not  all  going-  to  join  any  one  of  the 
existing  denominations.  But  whatever  of  distinct- 
ive doctrine  is  essentially  true  all  Christians  will 
silently  appropriate,  regardless  of  its  source. 

This  wide,  subtile  process  is  constantly  going  on. 
The  denominational  partitions  are  all  the  time  grow- 
ing thinner,  and  distinctive  truths  are  oozing  and 
leaking  through,  so  that  we  shall  wake  up  some  fine 
morning  and  discover,  to  our  surprise,  that  the  liquid 
in  all  the  denominational  compartments  is  substan- 
tially the  same,  and  some  of  us  w'ith  considerable 
reluctance  will  find  that  we  all  believe  essentially 
alike.  This  is  the  unity  we  are  arriving  at,  whether 
we  want  to  or  not.  All  Christians  will  not  ulti- 
mately become  members  of  one  denomination  either 
here  or  in  heaven,  but,  little  by  little,  all  the  truth 
that  is  preserved  and  witnessed  to  by  each  denom- 
ination will  become  the  common  property  of  all.  It 
is  a  fair  question  whether,  in  many  cases,  when  a 
minister  finds  himself  strongly  attracted  by  the 
features  of  another  denomination  than  his  own,  it 
is  not  his  bounden  duty  to  remain  right  where  he 
is,  and  sturdily  realize,  if  possible,  within  his  own 
communion,  the  ideas  and  spirit  which  he  admires, 
and  not  carry  coals  to  Newcastle  by  joining  another 
denomination,  provided,  of  course,  he  does  not  rad- 
ically diverge  from  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian 
body  which  he  represents. 


198  THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH. 

Will  denominations  then  pass  away?  I  think  not. 
Names  have  always  been  more  stubborn  historic 
facts  than  things.  A  form  will  last  long  after  the 
truth  has  evaporated  out  of  it.  Denominational  par- 
titions will  survive  as  convenient  division  walls  for 
Christian  work. 

If  these  things  are  so,  how  foolish  it  is  for  a 
human  soul  to  cramp  itself  up  by  denominational 
conceptions  of  Christianity.  It  is  a  significant  fact 
that  the  communion  which  is  advancing  most  rap- 
idly here  in  New  York  is  the  one  that  has  least  to 
say  about  its  distinctive  dogmas,  and  is  most  con- 
cerned w'ith  matters  relating  to  the  worship  of  the 
Eternal,  and  w^ith  right  methods  of  relieving  the 
sufferings  of  our  fellow-creatures.  She  cherishes  the 
spirit  so  w^ell  described  in  the  courtly  phrases  of 
Phillips  Brooks:  ''The  channel  which  is  not  wide 
enough  to  contain  the  full  torrent  of  the  spring- 
time is  thankful  that  the  drops  she  cannot  hold  find 
wayward  courses  of  their  own  down  to  the  sea;  and 
at  the  same  time  she  makes  herself  wider  and  wider, 
that  more  and  more  of  the  water  may  find  way 
through  her."  There  is  a  good  deal  of  sound  phil- 
osophy in  the  blunt,  dogmatic  language  of  old 
Andrew  Fuller:  "  It  is  an  important  principle,  that 
where  any  denomination  or  congregation  seeks  only 
its  own,  it  will  be  disappointed;  but  where  it  seeks 
the  Kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness,  its  own 
prosperity  will  be  among  the  things  that  \v\\\  be 
added  unto  it.  I  have  seen  great  zeal  for  what 
among  us  is  called  the  dissenting  interest;  and  in  such 
Iiands  the  dissenting  interest  has  died.     Had  they 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH.  199 

sought  more  to  make  men  Christians,  they  should  in 
most  cases  have  been  dissenters  of  their  own  accord. 
In  fact,  I  see  that  in  those  congregations  where  the 
main  object  is  what  it  should  be,  there  religion 
flourishes." 

It  is  by  cherishing  such  sentiments  as  these  that 
we  shall  help  to  realize  that  dream  of  church  unity 
which  sounds  faintly  in  our  ears  like  the  premature 
song  of  a  half-aw^akened  bird  before  daylight.  So 
shall  we  bring  to  pass  the  devout  aspiration:  "  More 
especially  we  pray  for  thy  holy  Church  universal, 
that  it  may  be  so  guided  and  governed  by  thy  good 
Spirit,  that  all  who  profess  and  call  themselves 
Christians  may  be  led  into  the  way  of  truth  and  hold 
the  faith  in  unity  of  spirit,  in  the  bond  of  peace,  and 
in  righteousness  of  life." 


INDEX. 


(The  figures  refer  to  pages.) 
A. 
Aaron,  breast-plate  of  judgment,  99. 
Actor,  his  criticism  of  preacher's  manner,  83;  dependence 

on  sympathetic  attention.  85. 
Alexander,   Dr.  Archibald,  his  simplicity,  TJ. 
Alfieri,  compulsory  application  to  study,  94. 
"  Amen  ",  use  of,  in  worship,  55. 
Amiel,  quotation,  87. 
Arab,  date-palm,  44. 

Arnold,  Matthew,  quotations,  74,  93,  96,  192. 
Arnold,  of  Rugby,  quotation,  194. 
Assisi,   St.   Francis  of,   quotation,   156. 
Auditorium,  secular  use  of,   179. 

B. 

Barnett,  the  Rev.  Samuel  A.,  quotation,  156. 

Blackboard,  74. 

Blind  man,  cure  of,  64. 

Boardman,  Dr.   George  Dana,  expository  lectures,  63, 

Body,  care  of,  91. 

Brakeman,  criticism  of  sermon,  90. 

Broadus,  Dr.  John  A.,  expository  preaching,  60. 

Brooks,   Phillips,   quotations,   198. 

Browning,   quotations,   zi,    179,    182. 

Bumble-Bee,  vehicle  of  pollen,  96. 

C. 

Care  of  the  body,  91. 

201 


202  INDEX. 

Carlyle,  quotations,  71,  79;  criticism  of  Froude,  82. 

Centres,  institutional  and  inspirational,  51. 

Chalmers',   Dr.,  illustration,  95;   quotation,  153. 

Children,  conversion  of,  108. 

Children,   the,    169;   key  to   evangelization   of   foreigners, 

169,     177;     Sunday    school,     170;     kindergarten,     172; 

primary  school,   172;   day-nursery,    173;   public  school 

system,     173;     children's     meetings,     175;     Children's 

Home,  175. 
Choir,  chorus,  128. 
Christ,  his  social  nature,  19. 
Church  architecture,   51. 
Church,  cohesive  Force  in  society,  19. 
Church  geared  for  different  forms  of  worship  and  work, 

41,   141. 

Church,  institutional,  proper  field  for,  26;  definition  of,  30. 

Church  institutionalism,  organized  kindness,  45. 

Church,  local,  definition,  22;  spiritual,  definition,  22;  its 
natural  parish,  26;  all-sufficiency  as  a  philanthropic 
agency,  31;  regular  attendance,  value  of,  42;  cosmo- 
politan character,  177. 

Church  music,  123;  best  tunes,  124;  old  tunes,  126;  new 
tunes,  126;  utilizing  hymn-book,  127;  chorus  choir, 
128;  location  of,  128;  musical  director,  130;  anthems, 
131;  congregational  singing,  value  of,  131;  difficulties 
of,  132;  junior  choir,  132. 

Cicero,  letter  to  Cecilius,  139. 

Civilization,   18. 

Coleridge,  quotation,  23. 

Coleridge,  Chief  Justice,  78. 

Colossus,  78. 

Communion,  the,  57. 

Commentaries,  use  of,  102. 

Congregation,  building  up  of,  41. 

Congregational   singing,    131. 

Conwell,  Dr.  Russell  H.,  sympathetic  methods,  45. 

Coughing   in   church,   87. 

Cuyler,  Dr.  Theo.  L.,  on  pastoral  visitation,  45. 


INDEX.  203 

D. 
Day  of  rest,  the  preacher's  need  of,  82. 
Dcnominationalism,   195;  definition,   195;   selfishness,   196; 

diffusion  of  truth,  196;  Church  Unity,  199. 
Dentistry,   ilkistration  from,  80. 
Devotional  life,  the  minister's,  98. 
Dickens,  method,  71. 
Dickinson,  Emily,  poetic  quotation,  103. 
Doyle,  Conan,  quotation,  79. 

E. 

Emerson,  quotation,  90;  thought  from,  149. 

Emerson,  utilizing  stray  thoughts,  71. 

Endowment,  church,  192. 

Epworth  League,  144. 

Equipment,  the  worst  off  need  the  best,  35,  51.  * 

Error,  constructive  dealing  with,  80. 

Evangelism,  professional,   119. 

Evangelist,  pastor  his  own,  118. 

Evangelistic  work,  evening  service,  115;  perpetual 
revival,  116;  special  efforts,  117;  week  of  prayer,  118; 
pastor  his  own  evangelist,  118;  union  meetings,  119; 
professional  evangelism,  119;  help  from  brother  pas- 
tors, 119,  121;  inquiry  room,  121;  drawing  the  net,  121. 

F. 

Farrar.  Dean,  65. 

Eerry-boat,  illustration,  5. 

Finance,  184;  free  seats,  184;  envelope  system,  189;  giving 
as  worship,  190;  money  for  Missions,  190;  expenses 
of  institutional  work,  191;  no  rent,  191;  daily  use  of 
church  edifice,  191;  endowment,  192;  inexpensive 
forms  of  work,  193;  help  from  outside,  193;  helpers 
from  without,  194. 

Foreigners,  evangelization  through  their  children,  169, 
177;  way  to  evangelize,  177. 

Free  seats,  184. 

French  physician,  his  power,  78. 

Fuller,  Andrew,  quotation,   198. 


204  INDEX. 

G. 

George  Eliot,  quotations,  47,  79,  86,  ("  tongues  like 
triggers  "),  87,  (greatness  often  repulsive),  92. 

Girls'  Friendlies,  183;  gymnastics,  183. 

Glue,  illustration  from,   119. 

Goethe,  quotations,  159,  (from  "Egmont"),  78;  inci- 
dent from  "  Faust  ",  88. 

Gospel  Halls,  24. 

Gospel  Meetings,  150;  time  of,  150;  side- walk  meetings, 
150;  conduct  of,  150. 

Guillotine,  Frenchman's  estimate  of  child,  112. 

Gymnastics,  for  young  men,  183;  for  women  and 
girls,  183. 

H. 

Hall,  church,  179. 

Hawthorne,  Nathaniel,  quotation  about  the  Rev.  Arthur 

Dimmesdale,  97. 
Heine,  quotation  from,  157, 
Hercules,  allusion  to,  87. 
Hill,  Rowland,  quotation,  148. 
Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell,  quotation,  69. 
Horace,  quotations,  90,  97. 
Humor  in  the  pulpit,  68. 

I. 

Illustrations  in  preaching,  68; 
Index  Rerum,  Todd's,  70. 
Individualism  in  savage  life,  17. 
Inquiry  room,  121. 
Institutionalism,  church,  45. 
Institutional  work,  difficulties,  35. 
Introduction,  Bishop  Potter,  7. 

J. 

Johnson,  Samuel,  quotation,  99. 

Judge,  opinion  on  length  of  sermon,  90, 


INDEX.  205 

K. 

Kingsley,  Charles,  quotation,  98. 

L. 
Laurcntius,   his   martyrdoni,    152. 
Lew  Wallace,  "  Ben-Hur  ",  64. 
Livingstone,  21. 
Lowell,   quotations,  51,    156. 
Luther,  view  of  miracles,  60. 

M. 
Mac  Intosh,  the  Rev.  Dr.,  field  in  Philadelphia,  (note),  36. 
Max  Miiller,  his  use  of  Indexes,  71. 
Mac  Leod,  Norman,  Dr.,  his  simplicity,  'j'j. 
Martha,  training  in  faith,  64. 
Mental  nature,   cultivation  of  minister's,  93. 
Missionary  spirit,  38. 
Miracle,  60. 
Music,  church,  58,  IC3;  prayer-meeting,  138. 

N. 
Napoleon,  allusion  to,  87. 
Nautical  phraseology,  jy. 
Net,  drawing  the,  121. 
Newman,  Cardinal,  quotations,  5,  42. 

O. 

Object  lessons,  75. 

OfTertory,  59. 

Office-hour,  the  pastor's,  50. 

Oxford,  Trial  of  verger's  faith,  80. 

P. 
Parisian  photographer,  89. 
Pastor,  programme  of  week  day,  94. 
Pastor,  relation  of,  to  all  forms  of  church  life  and  work, 

41,  149. 
Pastoral  visitation,  importance  and  method  of,  45;  Cuyler, 


2o6  INDEX. 

45;  prayer  during,  48;  seeking  definite  results,  48; 
thoughts  gathered  from,  48;  enlisting  helpers  in,  49; 
foJlowing  up  clues,  49. 

Peculiar  views,  unwisdom  of  emphasizing,  80. 

Persian  poet,  quotation,  59. 

Persian  sage,  quotation,  72. 

Peter's  wife's  mother,  63. 

Philanthropy,  see  Poor,  the. 

Plagiarism,  72. 

Plato,  words  frozen  in  air,  108. 

Pliny,  description  of  primitive  Christian  worship,  42. 

Poetry,  use  of,  in  preaching,  ys- 

Poor,  the,  151;  duty  of  church  to,  151;  general  spirit 
illustrated  by  Good  Samaritan,  155;  impostors,  153, 
158;  practical  methods,  160;  dispensary,  161;  employ- 
ment bureau,  161;  Penny  Provident  Fund,  161;  winter 
relief,  161;  giving  work,  162;  Mothers'  Meeting,  162; 
Sewing  School,  163;  class  in  stenography,  164;  class 
in  singing,  164;  gymnastics,  164;  principles  of  relief, 
164;  summer  relief,  165;  fresh  air  for  children,  165; 
fresh  air  for  aged,  sick  and  disabled,  166;  cool  water, 
167;   Flower-Mission,   168;   Home  for  the  sick,  177. 

Praise,  reproving  by,  89. 

Prayer,  use  of  forms,  54;  public,  58. 

Prayer  Book,  quotation,  199. 

Prayer  Meeting,  133;  definition,  133;  personnel,  133;  time  in 
.  the  week,  134;  place,  134;  exercises,  135;  social  char- 
acter, 135;  purposes,  137;  recreative  value,  137;  music, 
138;  instruction,  139;  winning  souls,  139;  obstacles, 
140;  method  of  conducting,  142;  prayer  meeting 
killers,   143. 

Preaching,  expository,  59;  serial,  61;  extemporaneous,  65; 
extemporaneous,  preparation  for,  67;  illustrative,  68; 
humor,  68;  Todd's  Index  Rerum,  70;  scrap-books,  72; 
plagiarism.  72;  poetry,  73;  visual  instruction,  74;  intel- 
ligible, 75;  positive.  77;  dealing  with  error,  80;  empha- 
sizing one's  peculiar  views,  80:  persuasive,  82; 
physical  health,  82;  preacher's  day  of  rest,  B2;  relaxa- 


INDEX.  207 

tion  after  preaching,  82;  delibcrateness,  83;  project- 
ing the  voice,  84;  pulpit  manner.  84;  sympathetic 
relation  to  audience,  85;  vehemence,  86;  good  temper 
in  pulpit,  87;  annoying  occurrences,  87;  brevity,  90; 
preparation  of  self,  91;  physical  nature,  91;  social 
nature,  92;  mental  nature,  93;  spiritual  nature,  97; 
temptations,  97;  devotional,  life,  98;  preparation  of 
sermon,  loi;  choice  of  text,  loi;  study  of  text  and 
context,  loi;  analysis,  103. 
President  of  United  States  and  office  seekers,  157. 

R. 
Reade,  Charles,  method,  71. 
Rescue  Missions,  24. 
Revival,  perpetual,  116. 
Revolution,  French,  Sieyes,  39. 
Robertson,      Frederick     W.,      suggestiveness,      TZ\      his 

memorial,  99. 
Romanists,  their  policy  of  concentration,  (note),  43. 

S. 

Savonarola,  allusion  to,  79. 

Salvation  Army,  51. 

Samaritan,  Good,  155. 

Schiller,  quotation  from  "William  Tell",  39. 

School-rooms,  church,  179. 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  the  one  book,  47. 

Scripture  reading,  58, 

Sensationalism  in  the  pulpit,  44. 

Sermon,  character  of,  59;  expository,  59;  serial,  61;  the 
human  view  point,  63J  extemporaneous,  65;  illustra- 
tive, 68;  humor,  68;  Todd's  Index  Rerum,  70;  scrap- 
book,  ']2\  plagiarism,  72;  poetry,  ']2)\  visual  instruc- 
tion, 74;  intelligible,  75;  positive,  yy,  dealing  with 
error,  80;  peculiar  views,  emphasizing,  80;  persuasive, 
82;  physical  health,  82;  preacher's  day  of  rest,  82; 
relaxation  after  preaching.  82;  delibcrateness,  83;  pro- 
jecting the  voice,  84;  pulpit  manners,  84;  sympathetic 


208  INDEX. 

relation  to  audience,  85;  vehemence,  86;  good  temper 
in  pulpit,  87;  annoying  occurrences,  88;  brevity,  90; 
preparation  of  self,  91;  physical  nature,  91;  social 
nature,  92;  mental  nature,  93;  spiritual  nature,  97; 
temptations,  97;  devotional  life,  98;  preparation  of  ser- 
mon, loi;  choice  of  text,  loi;  study  of  text  and  con- 
text, loi;  analysis,  103. 

Sewing  school,  fastening  ofT  the  thread,  90. 

Shakespeare,  quotation  from  "  Macbeth  ",   175. 

Silk-worm,  intestinal  parasite,  ^2. 

Sill,  Edward  Rowland,  poetic  quotation,  98, 

Sleeping  in  Church,  88. 

Slums,  living  in  the,  loi. 

Socialist,  his  view  of  the  poor,  154. 

Social  alienation,  problem  of,  29. 

Social  life  in  civilization,  18. 

Social  nature,  cultivation  of  minister's,  92. 

Spiritual  nature,  care  of  minister's,  97. 

Spurgeon,  66. 

St.  Augustine's  Chapel,  51. 

Stereopticon,  74. 

Study  of  text  and  context,  loi. 

Sunday  Morning  Service,  41;  as  a  whole,  51;  recreative 
value,  52;  symmetrical  character,  54;  spontaneity  and 
liturgical  formality,  54;  prayer,  use  of  forms,  54;  use 
of  "Amen",  55;  programme  of,  56;  in  detail,  57;  the 
Communion,  57;  music,  58;  prayer,  58;  Scripture  read- 
ing, 5S;  notices,  59;  offertory,  59;  sermon,  59. 

Sunday-School,  definition,  104;  vitality,  104;  pastor's  place 
in,  105;  all  ages  included,  106;  appointment  of  teach- 
ers, 106;  finance,  106;  teachers,  pastor's  assistants, 
106;  opening  exercises,  107;  music,  107;  lesson 
study,  107;  closing  exercises,  108;  evangelistic  work 
in,  108;  child  conversion,  109;  advantages  of  work 
among  children,  iii;  agency  in  evangelization  of  for- 
eigners, 170. 

Sunday  Evening  Service,  general  character,  113;  different 
from  morning,  113;  evangelistic,  115. 


INUliX.  209 

T. 

Taylor,  Dr.  Wm.  M.,  65. 

Temptations,  the  ministerial,  97. 

Tennyson,  quotations,  20,  39,  68,  93,  113,  196. 

Text,  choice  of,  loi. 

Tracts,  use  of,  in  pastoral  visitation,  46. 

Trinity  Church,  51. 

U. 
Union  meetings,  119. 

V. 
Verger,  Trial  of  his  faith,  80. 
Voltaire,  message  from  Catharine  the  Great,  21. 

W. 
Whittier,  quotation,  39. 
Wordsworth,  quotations,   19,   159. 
Working  by  the  day  or  by  the  piece,  93. 
Worship,  calendar  of,  59. 
Worship,  importance  of,  40;  schedule  of,  41;  difficulty  of 

maintaining,  43. 
Worst  ofif  need  the  best,  35,  51. 

Y. 

Young  men,  178;  parish  house,  178;  hall,  179;  head- 
quarters, 180;  how  to  reach  young  men,  181;  com- 
petition with  saloon,  180;  classes  in  gymnastics,  183; 
Baraca  Societies,   184. 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  22,  182,  183. 

Young  People,  144;  prayer-meeting,  144;  societies,  144; 
Epworth  League,  145;  Baptist  Young  People's  Union, 
145;  "Christian  Endeavor",  145;  its  origin,  145; 
advantages,  145;  dangers,  146;  annual  conventions, 
148;  pastor's  relation  to,  149;  relation  to  church,  149. 

Young  People's  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  23,  145. 

Young  Women's  Christian  Association,  183. 

[For  valuable  aid  in  the  making  of  this  Index  I  am 
indebted  to  my  friend,  the  Reverend  Dr.  James  W.  Will- 
MARTH. —  E.  J.] 


APPENDIX. 


Note  i. —  We  often  feel  that  ours  are  times  of  spiritual 
aridity.  Revivals  seem  long  deferred  and  difficult  to 
achieve.  We  sometimes  think  we  shall  never  see  one 
again.  If  we  succeed  in  kindling  a  little  fire  in  our  church, 
it  refuses  to  spread.  It  is  like  trying  to  warm  all  outdoors. 
Without  inquiring  too  curiously  into  the  causes  of  this 
condition,  we  should  not  give  up  all  hope  of  a 
general  awakening.  Let  us  pray  for  it,  and  work 
for  it,  and  wait  for  it.  But  let  us  not  wait  in 
idleness.  Let  us  utilize  the  dry  time  that  inter- 
venes. Every  Sunday  night  and  at  the  close  of  every 
social  meeting,  individualize  the  members  of  your  audi- 
ence. Have  some  simple  method  of  segregating  each 
attendant,  who  is  not  an  avowed  Christian;  and  try  to 
make  an  appointment  for  a  personal  interview  immediately 
at  the  close  of  the  service.  In  this  way  you  will  have 
conversation  with  two  or  three  inquirers  after  every  meet- 
ing, and  the  church  will  constantly  gain  new  accessions  — 
one  or  two  or  more  every  Sunday.  If  you  cannot  draw 
the  seine,  you  can  at  least  do  a  little  hook-and-line  fishing 
all  the  time.  Then  you  can  await  the  general  revival  with 
a  quiet  mind,  and  perhaps  the  converts  gained  by  these 
sensible  and  serene  methods  will  excel  in  weight  of  Chris- 
tian personality  and  influence  those  who  will  come  in  only 
at  seasons  of  extraordinary  effort. 

I  do  not  think  we  often  address  a  group  of  people,  but 
that,  if  we  watch  them  closely  one  by  one,  we  will  discover 
hidden  away  among  the  rest  isolated  cases  of  those  who 

2IO 


Ari'i:.\i)]x  211 

are  not  avowed  Christians.  The  problem  is  how  to  get 
at  these,  without  asking  them  every  time  to  stand  up,  or  to 
raise  their  hands,  or  in  some  other  way  openly  to  confess 
Christ.  Such  tests  soon  become  stereotyped  and  monot- 
onous. I  find  them  of  little  use  except  at  seasons  of 
special  interest.  Our  great  temptation  at  the  close  of 
Sunday  is  to  feel  so  tired  that  we  glance  superficially  over 
the  congregation,  and,  hastily  concluding  that  all  are 
either  Christians  or  else  impervious  to  our  appeals,  we 
dismiss  the  people  and  go  home,  without  gathering  the 
fruit  which  was  ready  to  drop  at  a  touch. 

NoTE2. — Just  so  far  as  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation performs  distinctively  ecclesiastical  functions,  it 
discredits  the  church  and  displaces  it  in  the  consciousness 
of  Christians.  A  very  effective  way  of  promoting  the 
disuse  and  consequent  debility  of  any  physical  organ  is 
to  lay  its  functions  upon  some  other  organ.  The  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  is  performing  an  important 
service  by  teaching  the  church  through  an  impressive 
object-lesson  what  she  ought  herself  to  do  along  philan- 
thropic and  educational  lines.  We  cannot  do  better  than 
to  pattern  our  methods  of  reaching  young  men  upon  the 
experience  wrought  out  by  the  Association  through  its 
long  and  honorable  history. 


HAND-BOOKS  FOR  PRACTICAL  WORKERS 
IN  CHURCH  AND  PHILANTHROPY. 

EDITED    BY 

SAMUEL  MACAULEY  JACKSON 
Professor  of  Church  History  in  the  New  York  University. 

THE  BIBLE-SCHOOL:  A  Manual  for  Sunday-School 
Workers.  By  A.  H.  McKinney,  Ph.  D.,  Pastor  of 
Olivet  Church,  New  York. 

SOCIAL  SETTLEMENTS,  Including  College  and 
University.  By  Prof.  C.  R.  Henderson,  D.  D.,  Pro- 
fessor of  Sociology,  University  of  Chicago,  111. 

THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH.  A  Primer  in 
Pastoral  Theology.  By  Edward  Judson,  D.  D., 
Pastor  of  the  Memorial  Church,  New  York  City. 
With  an  Introductory  Word  by  Bishop  Potter. 

YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  SOCIETIES.  By  Leonard 
Woolsey  Bacon,  D.  D.,  Norwich,  Conn. 

REVIVALS  AND  MISSIONS.  By  J.  Wilbur  Chap- 
man, D.  D.,  Pastor  of  Bethany  Church,  Philadel- 
phia, Pa. 

THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH.  By  Rev.  Austin  B.  Bas- 
sett.  Ware,  Mass. 

CHARITY  ORGANIZATION  AND  RELIEF  SOCI- 
ETIES. By  Charles  D.  Kellogg,  Second  Vice- 
President,  and  Philip  W.  Ayres,  Ph.  D.,  Assistant 
Secretary  of  the  N.  Y.  Charity  Organization  Society. 

CITY  EVANGELIZATION.  By  Frank  Mason 
North,  D.  D.,  N.  Y.  Church  Extension  and  Mis- 
sionary Society  of  the  M.  E.  Church. 

RELATIONS  OF  RELIGION  AND  PHILAN- 
THROPY. By  John  Huston  Finley,  LL.  D., 
President  of  Knox  College,  Galesburg,  111. 


Date  Due 

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